Each national team consisted of four members, with each skiing 7.5 kilometres and shooting twice, once prone and once standing.

[1][2] At each shooting station, a competitor has eight shots to hit five targets; however, only five bullets are loaded in a magazine at one time - if additional shots are required, the spare bullets must be loaded one at a time.

Vladimir Alikin set the tone for the Soviets in the first leg, putting together the single fastest lap of the relay race, and giving his side a twenty second lead over the East Germans.

The lead then expanded when Klaus Siebert struggled, needing a penalty loop on each of his two shooting rounds.

At the halfway point, the Soviets were more than a minute ahead, and while the Germans cut down the lead over the last two legs, they were not able to get close.