Biathlon

The name biathlon is used to describe any sporting event made up of two disciplines, but usually the winter sport which combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting is meant. This sport is probably most popular in Finland, Germany, Russia/CIS, and Scandinavia.

Table of contents
1 History
2 Governing Body
3 Champions
4 Rules
5 Competition Format
6 Variants
7 External links

History

The sport has its origins in an exercise for Norwegian soldiers. The first known competition took place in 1767 when border patrol companies competed against each other. Gradually the sport became more common throughout Scandinavia as an alternative training for the military. Called military patrol, the combination of skiing and shooting was demonstrated at the Olympic Winter Games in 1924, 1928, 1936 and 1948, but did not gain Olympic recognition then, as the small number of competing countries disagreed on the rules (see also Governing body, below).

The first World Championship in the sport was held in 1958 in Austria, and in 1960 the sport was finally included in the Olympic Games.

Governing Body

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.

Presidents of the UIPMB/IBU (possibly incomplete):

Champions

Rules

For complete rules, see the IBU Rule book. The concise rules given below should be enough for a spectator to understand what is going on at a biathlon stadium or at home watching a televised biathlon event, however.

Skiing

All skiing techniques are permitted in biathlon, but no other equipment than skis and ski poles may be used. Minimal length of the skis is the length of the skier less 4 cm.

Shooting

The biathlete carries the 3.5 kg rifle including ammunition in magazines on her/his back during the race. The rifles used are 5.6 mm (.22) caliber and are not automatic or semi-automatic; loading must be done by the biathlete's muscle force.

The target range shooting distance is 50 m. Prone shooting target diameter is 45 mm, standing is 115 mm. The five targets are self-indicating, in that they flip from black to white when hit, giving the biathlete instant visual feedback for each shot fired.

Competition Format

Sprint

In the sprint, held over 10 km (7.5 km for women), the biathlete shoots twice (10 shots), once prone, once standing. For each miss, a penalty loop of 150 m has to be completed before the race can be continued. The biathletes start in intervals (normally of 30 seconds).

Pursuit

In the pursuit, the biathletes start with the time difference between them from a previous race, often a sprint. Therefore, the contestant crossing the finish line first becomes the winner. The distance is 12.5 km (10 km for women), and there are four shooting rounds (2 prone, 2 standing), and each miss means a penalty loop of 150 m.

Mass start

In the mass start, all biathletes start at the same time, which limits the maximum number of competitors. In 15 km (or 12.5 km for women), there's four rounds of shooting, twice standing, twice prone. Extra time is added for each missed target.

Individual

The 20 km individual race (15 km for women) is the oldest biathlon event. The biathlete shoots four times, twice standing, twice prone, totalling 20 targets. For each missed target, a fixed penalty time, usually one minute, is added to the skiing time of the biathlete. As in the sprint competition, the biathletes start in intervals.

Relay

Teams consist of four biathletes, who each ski 7.5 km (both men and women), 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 loaded one at a time from trays at the shooting range. If after eight bullets there are still misses, one 150 m penalty loop must be taken for each miss. 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 exchange.

Team

A team consists of four biathletes, and all start at the same time. Two athletes must shoot in the prone shooting round, the other two in the standing round. In case of a miss, the two non-shooting biathletes must ski a penalty loop of 150 m. The skiiers must enter the shooting area together, and must also finish within 15 seconds of each other, otherwise a time penalty of 1 minute is added to the total time.

Variants

Two common variations on biathlon are summer biathlon, where skiing is replaced by a cross-country run, and archery biathlon, where the rifle is replaced by a longbow. There have also been (unofficial?) summer competitions in roller-ski biathlon.

See also:

External links



In the News

[Ironic] Professional beggars prowling about the streets of Moroccan c
The government plans to crack down on the scam used by faux beggars in growing numbers for a kind of "emotional blackmail", a cabinet minister was quoted as saying...

New Test On Tap For Detecting Pesticide-Resistant Mites
Commercial apiarists and state bee inspectors now have a fast new way to check Varroa mites for this honeybee parasite's resistance to the pesticides coumaphos and fluvalinate.

Bay Spill
Compilation of news stories and editorials concerning the oil spill that resulted from a container ship striking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in November 2007. In addition to ongoing stories about cleanup efforts and investigations into the accident, this feature include photos, audio and video clips, graphics, a list of beach closures, and details about volunteering to help with the cleanup efforts. From the website for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Medicalize Me: Experts Look At How Our Perceptions Of Illness Are Shap
Do prescription drug ads make people think they're sick when they're not, or create "disease"out of thin air? Does the "empowered patient"movement mean that doctors have lost some of their professional clout when it comes to making diagnoses and prescribing treatment? These questions and more are the focus of a set of probing essays in The Lancet, all addressing the topic of "medicalization"and what it means in modern society.

[Funny] A referee has sent himself off in an English amateur league ma
Andy Wain had to abandon the Sunday league match between Peterborough North End and a Royal Mail side in the 63rd minute after throwing down his whistle and marching up to confront North End's keeper.

Desires For Fatty Foods And Alcohol Share A Chemical Trigger
A brain chemical that stokes hunger for food and fat also triggers thirst for alcohol and may play a role in chronic drinking, according to a study led by Princeton University scientists.

Antioxidant character reference
David Bradley Science Writer reports on the natural antioxidants made in Taiwan.

Study Shows How Protein Raises Antibody Output
Cancer immunologists here have discovered how a protein on the surface of antibody-making immune cells boosts the amount of antibody the cells make. The protein, called CD86, is present on B lymphocytes, or B cells, which make infection-fighting antibodies.

Winds, Ice Motion Root Cause Of Decline In Sea Ice, Not Warmer Tempera
Extreme changes in the Arctic Oscillation in the early 1990s -- and not warmer temperatures of recent years -- are largely responsible for declines in how much sea ice covers the Arctic Ocean, with near record lows having been observed during the last three years, University of Washington researchers say.

Travelers Need To Know More About Diarrhea
A survey of 104 vacationers boarding flights for Mexico revealed that their general level of knowledge about the prevention of this condition was generally adequate; however, there were still some things they needed to know more about how to avoid a nasty case of travellers' diarrhea, but they don't know everything they should, according to a University of Alberta study.


MP3 Music Downloads

Preview songs, Download Free Music,Burn CDs at ITunes.com
iTunes_RGB_9mm

 

Google




InformationQuickFind.com - Find Information Fast

Links