The word biathlon is Greek, meaning "two contests." In this case it's cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. Biathlon was originally based upon the need for Northern Europeans to hunt for food. Biathlon was later incorporated into military strategy and used in battles and war.
Biathletes use freestyle skiing technique, which is skating on skis, and then shoot a .22-caliber rifle alternating between the prone (lying down) and standing positions. Targets are 50 meters away and sizes vary depending on the shooting position. Prone targets are slightly smaller than standing position targets.
Strong biathletes combine endurance and calm nerves. After skiing approximately two to three kilometers, biathletes must steady their rifle and concentrate on shooting the targets. In normal target shooting, a marksman is relaxed before firing the rifle; however, biathletes arrive at the firing range breathing irregularly and have an increased heart rate.
OLYMPICS OVERVIEW
Biathlon made its Olympic debut with the men skied on the USSRe same Olympics.
Women joined Olympic biathlon competition at the 1992 Albertville Games, with all three womenilver and an individual bronze at the 1994 Lillehammer Games and the concluded with a relay gold as well as one silver and one bronze in individual events at the 1998 Nagano Games.
Added to the 2002 Winter Games are two pursuit competitions one-minute intervals. The first of two shooting sessions comes about skiing 3.75 kilometers, with five rounds fired in the prone position. The second session is at about the 7.5-kilometer mark, when five more rounds are fired from the standing position. A skier must ski a 150-meter penalty loop for each missed target.
Women's 7.5 kilometers: Same as men's, with a shorter distance.
Men's 20 kilometers: In the longest of the individual events, competitors start at 30-second or one-minute intervals. The course is compromised of five sections, some of which must be covered more than once. Competitors complete four firing sessions of five rounds each in the sequence prone/standing/prone/standing with no support for the rifle. Each missed target results in the addition of a minute to the competitore next leg. Competitors will shoot faster in the relay t: This is the fastest-paced race ack of bike racers chasing down the leader. The shooting sequence is prone/prone/standing/standing. Each missed target requires athletes to ski a 150-meter penalty loop.
Women's 10-kilometer pursuit: Same as men's event, with the women skiing shorter distance.
