2012/2013 Media Guide Guide de Presse - Biathlon Canada

HistoryThe word biathlon is of Greek origin and means“two tests” – the combination of skiing andshooting used in the sport today is founded on atradition of hunting – stemming back more than4,000 years. Petroglyphs found in Norway depicthunters, with spears, traveling on skis in pursuitof game. Written descriptions of hunting on skiscan be traced back to 400 BC and the Roman poet,Virgil. Biathlon’s military uses have subsequentlybeen noted by generals, writers, geographers,and historians such as Xenophon, Strabol, Arrian,Theophanes, Prokopius, and Acruni who describedbattles of warriors equipped with skis. Gradually,the techniques needed for survival and combat,developed into contests of skill. What could havebeen a more natural competition between thehunters in the Scandinavian forests, than that ofmarksmanship and cross-country skiing?The first recorded biathlon race was organizednear the border between Sweden and Norwayin 1767, but regular competitions did not takehold until the early 20th century. As training fordefense purposes, biathlon grew in popularityamong military units, especially in Scandinavia.Known as the “military patrol”, it was contestedat the 1924 Olympic Winter Games for the firsttime in Chamonix, France The sport remained onthe Olympic program until 1948, when post-warsentiments caused it to be dropped. It has sincebeen added again.Sport DescriptionBiathlon is an Olympic winter sport, whichcombines competitive, free-technique crosscountryskiing and small-bore rifle marksmanship.The word competition is used in Biathlon insteadof race because it is not only a race, but acombination of two different disciplines.Cross-country racing requires intense, full-outphysical exertion over an extended period of time,while shooting demands extremely fine controland stability. When athletes arrive at the shootingrange, they have to shoot at a very small target,with a racing heartbeat and heaving chest becausethe clock is running even while they are shooting.The CompetitionIn a biathlon competition, the biathlete skisdistances varying from 6 to 20 kilometres, andstops at the shooting range to shoot two orfour times, with both the distance and numberof shooting bouts depending on the type ofcompetition in question. The shooting distance isalways 50 metres and five rounds are fired in eachbout at five targets, except in the relay competitionin which the competitor has three spare roundsfor each bout. There are two shooting positions,prone and standing, which are done in a sequencedepending on the competition.Target diameters are 115 millimetres for standingand 45 millimetres for prone. During the entirecompetition, the clock is running for eachcompetitor - there is no time-out for shooting.Penalties for missed targets are imposed eitheras one minute of added time per target for theindividual competition, or as a 150 metre penaltyloop - done immediately after each bout ofshooting - for all other competitions.In essence, the competitor begins at the startline, skis one trail loop (length depending on thecompetition), arrives at the range and shoots,skis another loop, shoots, and so on, and thenfinishes with a ski loop to the finish line after thelast bout of shooting. For the individual and sprintcompetitions, starts are done with one competitorat a time with a 30 second or one minute interval.In a pursuit competition, starts are based on timeintervals from the qualifying competition, andfor the mass start all competitors’ start togethersimultaneously. In the relay competition, the firstmembers of all teams start simultaneously in amass start, and after completing their part, tag thenext member to start them on their way.There are five differentcompetitions in biathlonwhich include:i.) Individual CompetitionThis is the traditional biathlon competition,which was established before the invention of themechanical target in which hits and misses canbe seen from the firing point. Shooting is moreimportant in the individual competition, with itsone-minute penalty, than the other disciplines,which have a penalty loop of 150 metres - whichtakes about 25 to 30 seconds to ski.The individual is the longest in skiing distanceof all biathlon competitions, and has four boutsof shooting for all classes of competitors. TheIndividual competition takes about 45 minutes toone hour to complete for each competitor. Men willstart by skiing four kilometres and then arrive atthe shooting station, continuing the sequence untilthey have shot four times, with a four kilometre skiloop between bouts. Women will follow the sameprocedure, with slightly shorter ski loops for the 15kilometre competition.Spectator’s Guide39