Biathlon at the 1960 Winter Olympics Biathlon at the 1960 Winter Olympics Biathlon at the 1960 Winter Olympics consisted of one biathlon event, held at McKinney Creek Stadium, Tahoma, California. The event occurred on 21 February 1960. This was the first appearance of modern biathlon in the Olympic Games. In 1924, a military patrol event was held. Some sources do not include this military patrol race as an Olympic event, but the IOC considers it an event within biathlon. Klas Lestander of Sweden won the first modern biathlon Olympic gold medal. Nine nations sent biathletes to compete in Squaw Valley. Below is a list of the
1960 Winter Olympics competed in four sports and twenty-seven events. Women's speed skating and biathlon made their Olympic debuts. The organizers decided the bobsled events did not warrant the cost to build a venue, so for the first and only time bobsled was not on the Winter Olympic program. Cold War politics forced the IOC to debate the participation of China and Taiwan. The United States supported Taiwan while the Soviet Union stood behind China. Given the fact that the 1960 Games were to be held in America, there was concern among IOC members that the United States would not allow China or