BIATHLON
What is it?
Biathlon is a mixture of cross country skiing and shooting
What happens in it?
The competitors ski, whilst carrying a rifle, shoot, ski, shoot, ski etc. Depending on the event, they will typically do two prone shoots and two standing shoots. They aim at targets that are roughly the size of a golf ball, from 50m away.
Why watch it?
Originally designed as an army training exercise, the sport adds an element of tension and drama through the shooting parts: often with places changing rapidly and top competitors losing ground after a poor shooting display. If one of the 5 targets is missed, the competitor must do a penalty loop and can lose their race position.
Extra Information
Biathlon is the sweatiest winter sport: a male competitor produces an average of four pints of sweat in a 20 km race
Biathlon is a mixture of cross country skiing and shooting
What happens in it?
The competitors ski, whilst carrying a rifle, shoot, ski, shoot, ski etc. Depending on the event, they will typically do two prone shoots and two standing shoots. They aim at targets that are roughly the size of a golf ball, from 50m away.
Why watch it?
Originally designed as an army training exercise, the sport adds an element of tension and drama through the shooting parts: often with places changing rapidly and top competitors losing ground after a poor shooting display. If one of the 5 targets is missed, the competitor must do a penalty loop and can lose their race position.
Extra Information
Biathlon is the sweatiest winter sport: a male competitor produces an average of four pints of sweat in a 20 km race
BIATHLON ALL STARS
Every sport has its superstars and BIATHLON is no different. Norwegian Ole Einar Bjorndalen is in his last season of competitive biathlon. He is the most successful ever male biathlete, winning 44 medals in the World Cup and 13 Winter Olympics medals.
The current star of the circuit is Frenchman Martin Fourcade. He is the only male biathlete to have won the Overall World Cup five times in a row
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The women's sport has seen many strong competitors, the most successful of whom was Belarusian Darya Domracheva. She is currently on a break from the sport and is expecting her first child with none other than Ole Einar Bjorndalen!
In her absence, the star of the 2015/2016 season was Czech athlete Gabriela Soukalova, who won a record number of medals and won the overall world cup. |
OTHER IDEAS
A guide on how to do certain sports / skills tricks (with images)
A guide to a healthy lifestyle and diet that matches different sports
A review of the last season IN YOUR OWN WORDS of whatever sport you like
An explanation, with INTERESTING WRITING about why you like a particular sport
A guide to a healthy lifestyle and diet that matches different sports
A review of the last season IN YOUR OWN WORDS of whatever sport you like
An explanation, with INTERESTING WRITING about why you like a particular sport