If you've gotten this far you've probably figured out that
Biathlon is a combination of skiing and shooting, but why these two
disciplines?
The distant roots of the sport came from necessity - a need to
master the elements in order to achieve a particular goal. Rock paintings
dating back to 3000 BC depict bow-toting figures pursuing prey on sliding
timber while other historical descriptions of warriors on skis date back to
before the Christian era. For hundreds of years, armies in Europe have
trained ski soldiers in order to pursue their goals in variable winter
conditions.
It was as a result of this need to have trained winter warriors
that competitions involving skiing and shooting came about. Biathlon-type
events in Scandinavia are known to have been held as early as the 18th century.
The first modern biathlon probably occurred in 1912 when the Norwegian military
organised the Forvarsrennet in Oslo. An annual event, it
consisted initially of a 17km cross-country ski race with two-minute penalties
incurred by misses in the shooting part of the competition.
The first Biathlon World Championships were held in Saalfelden,
Austria in 1958. Only 25 athletes from seven countries started in that first 20
km race. But the sport grew quickly.
In 1948, the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne et
Biathlon (UIPMB) was founded, to standardise the rules for biathlon and
pentathlon. In 1993, the biathlon branch of the UIPMB created the International
Biathlon Union (IBU), which officially separated from the UIPMB in 1998.
Today, there are several different types of Biathlon races; a
set of Biathlon races being considered a competition.
Here is a summary of race formats, brazenly
liberated from Wikipedia:
Individual
The 20 kilometres individual race (15 km for women) is the
oldest biathlon event and is skied over five laps. The biathlete completes four
shooting bouts in the order of prone, standing, prone, standing – five targets
during each bout. For each missed target a fixed penalty time, usually one
minute, is added to the skiing time of the biathlete. Competitors' starts are
staggered, normally by 30 seconds.
Sprint
The sprint is 10 kilometres for men and 7.5 kilometres for women
and is skied over three laps. The biathlete shoots twice - once prone and once
standing, for a total of 10 shots. For each miss, a penalty loop of 150 metres
must be skied before the race can be continued. As in the individual
competition, the biathletes start in intervals.
Pursuit
In a pursuit, biathletes’ starts are separated by their time
differences from a previous race, most commonly asprint. The contestant
crossing the finish line first is the winner. The distance is 12.5 kilometres
for men and 10 kilometres for women, skied over five laps. There are four
shooting bouts (two prone, two standing, in that order), and each miss means a penalty
loop of 150 m. To prevent awkward and/or dangerous crowding of the skiing
loops, and overcapacity at the shooting range, World Cup Pursuits are held with
only the 60 top ranking biathletes after the preceding race.
Mass start
In the mass start, all biathletes start at the same time and the
first across the finish line wins. In this race of 15 kilometres or 12.5
kilometres for women, the distance is skied over five laps. There are four
bouts of shooting (two prone, two standing, in that order) with the first
shooting bout being at the lane corresponding to the competitor's bib number
(Bib #10 shoots at lane #10 regardless of position in race), with the rest of
the shooting bouts being on a first-come, first-served basis (If a competitor
arrives at the lane in fifth place, they shoot at lane 5). As in sprint and
pursuit, competitors must ski one 150 m penalty loop for each miss. Here again,
to avoid unwanted congestion, World Cup Mass starts are held with only the 30
top ranking athletes on the start line (half that of the Pursuit as here all
contestants start simultaneously).
Relay
The relay teams consist of four biathletes, who each ski 7.5
kilometres (men) or 6 kilometres (women), each leg skied over three laps, with
two shooting rounds; one prone, one standing. For every round of five targets
there are eight bullets available, though the last three can only be
single-loaded manually one at a time from spare round holders or bullets
deposited by the competitor into trays or onto the mat at the firing line. If
after eight bullets there are still misses, one 150 m penalty loop must be
taken for each missed target remaining. The first-leg participants start all at
the same time, and as in cross-country skiing relays, every athlete of a team
must touch the team's next-leg participant to perform a valid changeover. On
the first shooting stage of the first leg, the participant must shoot in the
lane corresponding to their bib number (Bib #10 shoots at lane #10 regardless
of position in race), then for the remainder of the relay, the relay team
shoots on a first-come, first-served basis (arrive at the range in fifth place,
shoot at lane 5).
Mixed relay
The most recent addition, and in my opinion the most exciting, is the
mixed relay. It is similar to the regular
relay but for the composition of the teams, each of which consists of two women
and two men. Legs 1 and 2 are done by the women, legs 3 and 4 by the men. The
women's legs are 6 km and men's legs are 7.5 km as in ordinary relay
competitions.
Some teams do not possess the depth of talent to
produce four talented men or four talented women for the regular relay. However, some of the smaller teams possess at
least enough athletes to put together a competitive team. Consequently, smaller nations such as the
Czech Republic are able to compete against larger nations such as Russia,
whereas in regular relays this would not be possible. If you’re looking for some exciting races
this year, keep your eyes open for the upcoming mixed relays! Don’t worry, I’ll post on this site when and
where they can be found.
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