Military patrol at the 1924 Winter Olympics explained

At the 1924 Winter Olympics, in Chamonix, France, a military patrol competition was held. The Olympic results database lists the official medal winners for the event, as does the Official Report (1924),^[1] yet several sources have incorrectly counted this competition as a demonstration event only.^[2] The event was also demonstrated in 1928, 1936, and 1948, but those results are still considered unofficial. A full 36 years would pass before the modern version of the sport, biathlon, became an official Winter Olympic sport. The official website of the IOC now treats Men's Military Patrol at the 1924 Games as a separate discipline, without mixing it with the sports of Skiing or Biathlon.^{[3] [4]} However, the 1924 Official Report treats it as an event within the sport of skiing.^{[5] [6]}

The competition was held on Tuesday, January 29, 1924. Each team had 4 people and the distance was 25 km. The targets were balloons at 150m. Six teams started the event, but only four finished with Italy and Poland withdrawing due to bad conditions.

Results

width=20	Place	width=580	Biathletes	width=90	Adjusted Time	width=70	Shots On Target
		3:56:06	8
		4:00:10	11
		4:18:53	2
4		4:19:54	5
—		DNF
		DNF

Participating nations

A total of 24 biathletes from six nations competed at the Chamonix Games:

Medal table

Sources:^[7]

Bibliography

• Official Report (1924) of both Summer and Winter games: Book: Les Jeux de la VIII^e Olympiade Paris 1924 – Rapport Officiel . (((ed.) M. Avé, Comité Olympique Français)) . Librairie de France . Paris . French . PDF . 7 May 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110505162957/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1924/1924.pdf . 5 May 2011 . dead .

External links

• International Olympic Committee results database

Notes and References

1. Official Report (1924), pp 701-703: EPREUVE No 139 SKI MILITAIRE (Event Number 139 Military Ski). This gives both the rules and the results of the competition. (Note: It is event Number 139 of the combined Winter and Summer Games, but event Number 12 on the programme of the Winter Games).
2. Official Report (1924), pp 618-628: Les démonstrations hors~programme (Demonstrations outside the official programme). This gives a complete account of the demonstration sports. Military Patrol is not among them.
3. Web site: Chamonix 1924 Results . IOC . 31 January 2022.
4. Web site: Chamonix 1924 Military Patrol Men Results . IOC . 31 January 2022.
5. Official Report (1924), p 646: Le Programme ... II. — Epreuves par équipes - 12. Ski : Course militaire (20 à 30 kilomètres, avec tir). (The Programme ... II. — Team events - 12. Skiing : Military Race (20 to 30 kilometres, with shooting)).
6. Official Report (1924), p 664: CONCOURS DE SKI - Jurys - COURSE MILITAIRE. (Skiing Competitions - Juries - Military Race)
7. Web site: Olympic Analytics - Medals by Countries . olympanalyt.com . 2022-02-20.