- Key People:
- Ole Einar Bjørndalen
- Myriam Bédard
biathlon
What is the biathlon?
Where did the biathlon originate?
When was the biathlon first included in the Winter Olympics?
Who is considered the greatest biathlete of all time?
biathlon, winter sport combining cross-country skiing with rifle marksmanship.
History and international competition
The sport is rooted in the skiing traditions of Scandinavia, where early inhabitants revered the Norse god Ull as both the ski god and the hunting god. Ull’s goddess wife Skadi was also celebrated as a hunter-skier. The combined skills of skiing and rifle marksmanship were first developed by the region’s militaries. Documents describe Norwegian and Swedish ski units fighting in the Second Northern War (1700–21), and, in 1767, the first recorded biathlon competition took place along the Norway-Sweden border between patrol companies. The sport was thought to provide valuable training as well as recreation. In 1861 the Trysil Rifle and Ski Club, the first biathlon club, was established in Norway, and thereafter similar clubs were found throughout northern Europe.
The growth of the sport was aided by its inclusion, under the name “military patrol,” at the first Winter Olympics, held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. This event broadly resembled modern biathlon, although it was contested by four-man teams and had significantly different procedures for the marksmanship portion. Military patrol was included as a demonstration sport at the Winter Games of 1928, 1936, and 1948. The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne et Biathlon (founded 1948) worked for the development of both sports and instituted an annual world championship for the biathlon in 1958. The biathlon was added to the Winter Olympics program as an official men’s event in 1960. International biathlon competitions for women were first held in 1981; a world championship was established three years later. Women’s biathlon made its Olympic debut at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France. Since 1993 the sport has been governed by the International Biathlon Union (IBU).
International biathlon competition has been dominated by northern Europeans over the years, particularly by athletes from Russia, Finland, Germany, and Norway. Ole Einar Bjørndalen of Norway is widely considered the greatest biathlete of all time; his 14 Olympic medals are the most for any male Winter Olympian. Canadian Myriam Bédard is the only non-European ever to capture an Olympic biathlon title, winning bronze at the Albertville 1992 Olympic Winter Games and two gold medals at the Lillehammer 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Norway.
Equipment and events
In biathlon events competitors cover a cross-country course, carrying a specially designed 5.6-mm (.22-caliber) rifle. Either classical or freestyle (skating) techniques can be used in biathlon competitions. At intervals competitors stop at firing ranges to shoot at five targets located 50 meters (164 feet) away. In most races competitors are required to shoot from both standing and prone (lying on the stomach) positions. The target size varies according to position, with standing shooters aiming at an 11.5-cm (4.5-inch) target and prone contestants shooting at a 4.5-cm (1.8-inch) target.
The IBU authorizes biathlon events in the categories of individual, sprint, relay, pursuit, and mass start. Individual competition covers a distance of 20 km (12.4 miles) for men and 15 km (9.3 miles) for women. Skiers start at 30-second or 1-minute intervals and race against the clock. They carry 20 rounds of ammunition and stop for four firing sessions. For this competition, shooting positions alternate in the following order: prone, standing, prone, standing. A minute is added to the athlete’s final time for each failed shot.
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The sprint events also use interval starts and race against the clock. In the men’s and women’s sprint events, covering 10 km (6.2 miles) and 7.5 km (4.7 miles), respectively, there are only two shooting sessions (prone, then standing) for which contestants are allowed to carry 10 rounds of ammunition. Each missed target in sprint competition costs competitors a 150-meter (492-foot) penalty loop. The loop is relatively short for accomplished skiers; sprint contestants tend to shoot quickly, confident that a penalty can be easily overcome.
Pursuit, relay, and mass start events are all race-to-the-finish competitions and require penalty loops for missed shots. Pursuit races (12.5 km [7.8 miles] for men; 10 km [6.2 miles] for women) use interval starts based on the results of a previous race, whereas relay and mass start events require all competitors to start at the same time. In relay events team members ski and shoot one at a time.
Olympic biathlon events include men’s and women’s individual, sprint, relay, pursuit, and mass start races. In 2011 a mixed relay event was added to the schedule for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
Para biathlon was introduced as a sport at the Paralympic Games in 1988. The sport includes standing, sitting (using a sit ski), and vision-impaired categories and three events: sprint pursuit, 7.5-km sprint, and 12.5-km individual. Athletes with impairments in one or both of their upper limbs ski without poles or with a single pole. They position their rifle at the shooting range and another person, called a trainer, pulls the trigger. Athletes with visual impairments use a guide while skiing and have special headsets and sound-generating targeting systems on their rifles that help them track the target using their hearing.
