The French biathlon team raced to gold in the mixed 4x6km relay Sunday at the Olympics, with host nation Italy chasing down the gap for a silver on home turf.

France dominated the second half of the mixed relay biathlon race at the Milan Cortina Olympics with fast skiing and strong shooting to take gold ahead of Italy and Germany.

The men raced yesterday in Bormio, Italy. Switzerland’s young speed star, Franjo von Allmen, claimed his second gold medal of these Winter Games alongside his teammate and slalom specialist Tanguy Nef. Von Allmen was also victorious in the men’s downhill on the Stelvio course on Saturday.

Biathlon begins Sunday with the mixed relay event. It will set the tone for the ten following events in Milan Cortina and Team Italy's hopes for a biathlon medal.

While China certainly has the talent to win back-to-back golds in the Mixed Team Relay, and the host nation will bring its best effort, South Korea has more than enough talent to score a podium finish, as does Canada, which finished fourth after being penalized.

The short track speed skating competition of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will begin Tuesday, with the first set of medals to be awarded in the mixed team relay. South Korea has won more short track gold medals than anyone in Olympic history with 26,

Julia Simon kept her cool two months after returning from a short ban for credit card fraud when she anchored France to Olympic biathlon mixed relay gold on Sunday. Simon inherited a lead of almost 20 seconds from World Cup leader Lou Jeamonnot after earlier legs from Eric Perrot and Quentin Fillon Maillet.

Hometown hero Dorotea Wierer did her part in delivering a silver medal in Sunday's mixed relay that lifted the hearts of biathlon fans in northern Italy, heralding her second place as if she had won gold.

Biathlon combines two sports – cross-country skiing and shooting – into one race. The biathlon first made its debut 66 years ago in the 1960 Winter Olympics at the renamed Palisades Tahoe in Olympic Valley near Lake Tahoe. This year, the Winter Olympic biathlon games will be held in Antholz (Anterselva), Italy.

Ski mountaineering will make its Olympic debut this year, the first winter sport to do so since 2002. Skeleton, luge, ski jumping and moguls are also getting new events.