Regulation biathlon targets are set at a distance of 50 meters from the shooting mat.

Quick Scoop: Biathlon Target Distance

  • In standard winter biathlon (World Cup, World Championships, Olympics), athletes always shoot at targets 50 m away.
  • The same 50 m distance applies for both prone and standing shooting; what changes is target size, not distance.
  • Typical target diameters:
    • Prone: about 45 mm (roughly 1.8 inches).
* Standing: about 115 mm (roughly 4.5 inches).
  • In some summer or beginner/“biathlon for all” setups, shorter ranges like 5–25 m are used with proportionally smaller or air-rifle targets, but official international events still use 50 m.

So if you’re watching World Cup or Olympic biathlon, you can assume they’re shooting 50 m to those small black targets on the range.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.