At the 1924 Winter Olympics, in Chamonix, France, a military patrol competition was held. The Olympic results database[1] lists the official medal winners for the event, as does the Official Report (1924),[2][3][4] yet several sources have incorrectly counted this competition as a demonstration event only.[5] 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.[6][1] However, the 1924 Official Report treats it as an event within the sport of skiing.[2][3]
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
| Place | Biathletes | Adjusted Time [nb 1] | Shots On Target |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  Denis Vaucher (Captain), Alfred Aufdenblatten, Antoine Julen, Alfons Julen (SUI) | 3:56:06 | 8 |
 |  Väinö Bremer (Captain), August Eskelinen, Heikki Hirvonen, Ville Mattila (FIN) | 4:00:10 | 11 |
 |  Camille Mandrillon (Captain), Georges Berthet, Maurice Mandrillon, Adrien "André" Vandelle (FRA) | 4:18:53 | 2 |
| 4 |  Karel Buchta (Captain), Josef Bím, Bohuslav Josífek, Jan Mittlöhner (TCH) | 4:19:54 | 5 |
| — | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Piero Dente (Captain), Goffredo Lagger, Albino Bich, Paolo Francia (ITA) | DNF | |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Zbigniew Wóycicki (Captain), Szczepan Witkowski, Stanisław Chrobak, Stanisław Kądziołka (POL) | DNF |
Participating nations
A total of 24 biathletes from six nations competed at the Chamonix Games:
- Czechoslovakia (4)
- France (4)
- Finland (4)
- Italy (4)
- Poland (4)
- Switzerland (4)
Medal table
Sources:[7]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland (SUI) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | Finland (FIN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | France (FRA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (3 entries) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
References
- 1 2 "Chamonix 1924 Military Patrol Men Results". IOC. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- 1 2 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)).
- 1 2 Official Report (1924), p 664: CONCOURS DE SKI - Jurys - COURSE MILITAIRE. (Skiing Competitions - Juries - Military Race)
- 1 2 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).
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Chamonix 1924 Results". IOC. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ↑ "Olympic Analytics - Medals by Countries". olympanalyt.com. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
Bibliography
- Official Report (1924) of both Summer and Winter games: (ed.) M. Avé, Comité Olympique Français. Les Jeux de la VIIIe Olympiade Paris 1924 – Rapport Officiel (PDF) (in French). Paris: Librairie de France. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2011.