The biathlon is a
winter sport
Winter sports or winter activities are competitive sports or non-competitive recreational activities which are played on snow or ice. Most are variations of skiing, ice skating and sledding. Traditionally, such games were only played in cold area ...
that combines
cross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...
and
rifle shooting
Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such as ...
. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not timed per se, but depending on the competition, missed shots result in extra distance or time being added to the contestant's total.
History
![Skielober 1811](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Skielober_1811.jpg)
According to ''
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
'', the biathlon "is rooted in the skiing traditions of Scandinavia, where early inhabitants revered the
Norse god Ullr as both the ski god and the hunting god." In modern times, the activity that developed into this sport was an exercise for Norwegians as alternative training for the
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
. Norwegian skiing regiments organized military skiing contests in the 18th century, divided into four classes: shooting at mark while skiing at top speed, downhill race among trees, downhill race on big hills without falling, and a long race on flat ground while carrying a rifle and military pack. In modern terminology, these military contests included downhill, slalom, biathlon, and cross-country skiing.
[Bergsland, Einar (1946): ''På ski.'' Oslo: Aschehoug.] One of the world's first known ski clubs, ''Trysil Skytte- og Skiløberforening'' (the Trysil Rifle and Ski Club), was formed in Norway in 1861 to promote national defense at the local level. 20th century variants include (the military contest), a 17 km cross-country race with shooting, and the military cross-country race at 30 km including marksmanship.
The modern biathlon is a civilian variant of the old military combined exercise. In Norway, the biathlon was until 1984 a branch of , an organization set up by the government to promote civilian marksmanship in support of national defence. In Norwegian, the biathlon is called (literally ''ski shooting'').
[''Kunnskapsforlagets idrettsleksikon'' (Encyclopedia of Sports), Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget, 1990] In Norway, there are still separate contests in , a cross-country race at 12 km with large-caliber rifle shooting at various targets with unknown range.
Called
military patrol
Military patrol was a team winter sport in which athletes competed in cross-country skiing, ski mountaineering and rifle shooting. It was usually contested between countries or military units.
The military patrol competition encompassed 25 kil ...
, the combination of skiing and shooting was contested at the
Winter Olympic Games
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...
in
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...
and then
demonstrated in
1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...
,
1936
Events
January–February
* January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
, and
1948
Events January
* January 1
** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated.
** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect.
** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
, during which time Norway and Finland were strong competitors. In 1948, the sport was reorganized under the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne et Biathlon and became re-accepted as an Olympic sport in 1955,
with widespread popularity within the Soviet and Swedish winter sport circuits.
The first
Biathlon World Championship
The first Biathlon World Championships (BWCH) was held in 1958, with individual and team contests for men. The number of events has grown significantly over the years. Beginning in 1984, women biathletes had their own World Championships, and fina ...
was held in 1958 in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, and in 1960 the sport was finally included in the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
.
At
Albertville
Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France.
It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...
in 1992, women were first allowed in the Olympic biathlon. The pursuit format was added for the
2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soó ...
, and the IBU added mixed relay as a format for the
2006 Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...
.
The competitions from 1958 to 1965 used high-power
centrefire
Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center
A centerfire cartridge is a firearm metallic cartridge whose primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i.e. "case head"). Unlike rimfi ...
cartridges, such as the
.30-06 Springfield
The .30-06 Springfield cartridge (pronounced "thirty- aught-six" ), 7.62×63mm in metric notation, and called the .30 Gov't '06 by Winchester, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and later standardized; it remained in military use ...
and the
7.62×51mm NATO
The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It is a standard for small arms among NATO countries.
First developed in the 1950s, the cartridge had first been introduced in U.S. service fo ...
, before the
.22 Long Rifle
The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smo ...
rimfire cartridge was standardized in 1978.
The ammunition was carried in a belt worn around the competitor's waist. The sole event was the men's 20 km individual, encompassing four separate ranges and firing distances of 100 m, 150 m, 200 m, and 250 m. The target distance was reduced to 150 m with the addition of the relay in 1966. The shooting range was further reduced to 50 m in 1978 with the mechanical self-indicating targets making their debut at the
1980 Winter Olympics
The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States.
Lake Placid was elected ...
in
Lake Placid. For the 2018–2019 season, fully
electronic target
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
* Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
* Electronic ...
s were approved as an alternative to paper or mechanical steel targets for IBU events.
Governing body
In 1948, the
International Modern Pentathlon Union
The ''Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne'' ( en, International Modern Pentathlon Union), commonly known by the acronym UIPM, has been the international governing body of modern pentathlon since its foundation in London in 1948. Its head ...
(UIPM) was founded to standardize the rules for the
modern pentathlon
The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anci ...
and from 1953 also biathlon. In July 1993, the biathlon branch of the UIPMB created the
International Biathlon Union
The International Biathlon Union (IBU; german: Internationale Biathlon-Union) is the international governing body of biathlon. Its headquarters were in Salzburg, Austria, until May 2020, when the Federation moved to Anif, on the outskirts of the ...
(IBU), which officially separated from the UIPMB in 1998.
Presidents of the UIPMB/IBU:
* 1947–1949:
Tom Wiborn
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
(Sweden)
* 1949–1960:
Gustaf Dyrssen
Lieutenant General Gustaf Peder Wilhelm Dyrssen (24 November 1891 – 13 May 1981) was a Swedish Army officer and Olympic modern pentathlete.
Early life
Dyrssen was born on 24 November 1891 in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of admiral Wil ...
(Sweden)
* 1960–1988:
Sven Thofelt
Sven Alfred Thofelt (19 May 1904 – 1 February 1993) was a Swedish modern pentathlete and épée fencer who competed at the 1928, 1932, 1936 and 1948 Summer Olympics.
Early life
Thofelt was born on 19 May 1904 in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of m ...
(Sweden)
* 1988–1992:
Igor Novikov Igor Novikov may refer to:
*Igor Novikov (painter) (born 1961), Russian painter living in Switzerland
*Igor Novikov (pentathlete) (1929–2007), Soviet Olympic modern pentathlete
*Igor Novikov (chess player) (born 1962), Ukrainian then U.S. chess ...
(
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
/Russia)
* 1992–2018:
Anders Besseberg
Anders is a male name in Scandinavian languages and Fering North Frisian, an equivalent of the Greek Andreas ("manly") and the English Andrew. It originated from Andres via metathesis.
In Sweden, Anders has been one of the most common names fo ...
(Norway)
* Since 2018: Olle Dahlin (Sweden)
Championships
![Simon Fourcade Kontiolahti 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Simon_Fourcade_Kontiolahti_2012.jpg)
The following articles list major international biathlon events and medalists. Contrary to the Olympics and World Championships (BWCH), the World Cup (BWC) is an entire winter season of (mostly) weekly races, where the medalists are those with the highest sums of World Cup points at the end of the season.
*
Biathlon at the Winter Olympics
Biathlon debuted at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California with the men's 20 km individual event. At the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, the men's 4 × 7.5 km relay debuted, followed by the 10 km sprint event at ...
*
Biathlon World Championships
The first Biathlon World Championships (BWCH) was held in 1958, with individual and team contests for men. The number of events has grown significantly over the years. Beginning in 1984, women biathletes had their own World Championships, and fina ...
*
Biathlon World Cup
The Biathlon World Cup is a top-level biathlon season-long competition series. It has been held since the winter seasons of 1977–78 Biathlon World Cup, 1977–78 for men and 1982–83 Biathlon World Cup, 1982–83 for women. The women's seasons ...
*
Biathlon European Championships
The Biathlon European Championships are the top-european competitions in biathlon. The first edition was held in 1994, with sprint, pursuit, individual and relay. The number of events has grown significantly over the years.
Participation of non-E ...
*
IBU Cup
The IBU Cup in biathlon has been held since the winter seasons of 1982–83 and 1988–89, for women and men, respectively. Until the 2007–08 season this competition was called European Cup. It is the second-rank competition in biathlon after th ...
*
Biathlon Junior World Championships
Biathlon Junior World Championships were first held in 1967 for men and in 1984 for women. According to the International Biathlon Union rules, biathletes qualify as Junior if they turn 20, 21 or 22 during the season from November to October, they ...
*
Biathlon at the Winter Universiade
The Biathlon events have been contested at the Universiade as optional sport at the 1983 Winter Universiade, 1983,1989 Winter Universiade, 1989 and 1993 Winter Universiade, 1993,becoming a compulsory sport after the 1997 Winter Universiade, 199 ...
Rules and equipment
The complete rules of the biathlon are given in the official IBU rule books.
Basic concepts
A biathlon competition consists of a race in which contestants ski through a cross-country trail system whose total distance is divided into either two or four shooting rounds, half in the prone position, the other half standing. Depending on the shooting performance, extra distance or time is added to the contestant's total skiing distance/time. The contestant with the shortest total time wins.
For each shooting round, the biathlete must hit five targets or receive a penalty for each missed target, which varies according to the competition rules as follows:
* Skiing around a penalty loop—typically taking 20–30 seconds for elite biathletes to complete, depending on weather and snow conditions.
* Adding one minute to the skier's total time.
* Use of an extra cartridge (placed at the shooting range) to hit the target; only three such extras are available for each round, and a penalty loop must be done for each target left standing.
In order to keep track of the contestants' progress and relative standing throughout a race,
split times (intermediate times) are taken at several points along the skiing track and upon finishing each shooting round. The large display screens commonly set up at biathlon arenas, as well as the information graphics shown as part of the TV picture, will typically list the split time of the fastest contestant at each intermediate point and the times and time differences to the closest runners-up.
Skiing details
In the Olympics, all cross-country skiing techniques are permitted in the biathlon, allowing the use of
skate skiing
Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...
, which is overwhelmingly the choice of competitors. The minimum ski length is the height of the skier minus 4 cm. The rifle has to be carried by the skier during the race at all times.
Shooting details
![2018-01-06 IBU Biathlon World Cup Oberhof 2018 - Pursuit Men 70](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/2018-01-06_IBU_Biathlon_World_Cup_Oberhof_2018_-_Pursuit_Men_70.jpg)
The biathlete carries a small-bore rifle, which must weigh at least , excluding ammunition and magazines. The rifles use
.22 LR
The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smooth ...
ammunition and are
bolt action
Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed).
Most bolt-action ...
or
Fortner (straight-pull bolt) action. Each rifle holds 4 magazines with 5 rounds each. Additional rounds can be kept on the stock of the rifle for a relay race.
The target range shooting distance is . There are five circular
shooting target
Shooting targets are objects in various forms and shapes that are used for pistol, rifle, shotgun and other shooting sports, as well as in darts, target archery, crossbow shooting and other non-firearm related sports. The center is often call ...
s to be hit in each shooting round. When shooting in the
prone position
Prone position () is a body position in which the person lies flat with the chest down and the back up. In anatomical terms of location, the dorsal side is up, and the ventral side is down. The supine position is the 180° contrast.
Etymolog ...
, the target diameter is ; when shooting in the standing position, the target diameter is . This translates to angular target sizes of 0.9 and 2.3
mrad
The Barrett MRAD (Multi-role Adaptive Design) is a bolt-action sniper rifle designed by Barrett to meet the requirements of the SOCOM PSR. The MRAD is based on the Barrett 98B and includes a number of modifications and improvements. The Barrett ...
respectively. On all modern biathlon ranges, the targets are self-indicating, in that they flip from black to white when hit, giving the biathlete, as well as the spectators, instant visual feedback for each shot fired.
Ear protection is not required during biathlon shooting as the ammunition used is usually
subsonic
Subsonic may refer to:
Motion through a medium
* Any speed lower than the speed of sound within a sound-propagating medium
* Subsonic aircraft, a flying machine that flies at air speeds lower than the speed of sound
* Subsonic ammunition, a type o ...
. An eyecup (blinder) is an optional feature of
biathlon rifle
A Biathlon rifle is a specialized rifle designed for use in a biathlon event. Specialist biathlon rifles are ultra lightweight, and usually equipped with straight-pull actions, integrated magazine carriers, and ergonomic stock designs suitable fo ...
s.
Competition format
Individual
The individual race
for women
For or FOR may refer to:
English language
*For, a preposition
*For, a complementizer
*For, a grammatical conjunction
Science and technology
* Fornax, a constellation
* for loop, a programming language statement
* Frame of reference, in physics
...
is the oldest biathlon event; the distance is skied over five laps. The biathlete shoots four times at any shooting lane (lanes 1–15 are in prone, while lanes 16–30 are for standing), in the order of prone, standing, prone, standing, totaling 20 targets. 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.
A variation of the standard individual race, called short individual, was introduced during the
2018–19 Biathlon IBU Cup
The 2018–19 Biathlon IBU Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. IBU Cup is the second-rank competition in biathlon after the Biathlon World Cup. The season started on 26 Novembe ...
. The races are 15 km for men and 12.5 km for women, and for each missed target, 45 seconds will be added to the skiing time.
Sprint
The sprint is for men & for women; the distance is skied over three laps. The biathlete shoots twice at any shooting lane, once prone (usually lanes 1–15) and once standing (lanes 16–30), for a total of 10 shots. For each miss, a penalty loop of 150 m must be skied before continuing the race. As in the individual competition, the biathletes start in intervals.
Super Sprint
Introduced at the
2017–18 Biathlon IBU Cup
The 2017–18 Biathlon IBU Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. IBU Cup is the second-rank competition in biathlon after the Biathlon World Cup. The season started on 22 Novembe ...
, the Super Sprint is a shorter version of the sprint race. Unlike the traditional sprint race, the Super Sprint is divided into two segments – qualification and final. The qualification is done like the traditional sprint, but on a 1.5 km lap with a total length of 4.5 km. Only the top 30 competitors qualify for the final, in which all competitors start simultaneously and do five laps on the same course (like in mass start) with a total race length of 4 km. During the final, the competitors have three spare rounds should they miss a target (like in relay race). However, if not all targets are cleared during shooting instead of going on the penalty loop, the biathlete is disqualified from the race.
Changes were made for the following season with the course now being 1 km (0.2 km increase) meaning that the qualification race length will become 3 km, while the final race becomes 5 km in length. Also the number of spare rounds was decreased from three to one.
Pursuit
![Biathlon Oberhof 2013-039](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Biathlon_Oberhof_2013-039.jpg)
In a pursuit, biathletes' starts are separated by their time differences from a previous race, most commonly a sprint. The contestant crossing the finish line first is the winner. The distance is 12.5 km for men and 10 km 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 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. The biathletes shoot on a first-come, first-served basis at the lane corresponding to the position they arrived for all shooting bouts. If the pursuit follows an individual biathlon race, the lag behind the winner is halved.
Mass start
In the mass start, all biathletes start at the same time, and the first across the finish line wins. In this 15 km for men or 12.5 km for women competition, 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).
Mass start 60
Starting in the
2018/2019 season, the Mass Start 60 became part of the
International Biathlon Union
The International Biathlon Union (IBU; german: Internationale Biathlon-Union) is the international governing body of biathlon. Its headquarters were in Salzburg, Austria, until May 2020, when the Federation moved to Anif, on the outskirts of the ...
(IBU) competition formats. The Mass Start with 60 starters does not replace the current Mass Start with 30 starters.
Everyone skis the first lap together, but only the first 30 stop to shoot, and the second 30 keep skiing. At the end of the second lap, the second 30 stop to shoot, and the first 30 continue to ski. After the first two shoots are over (everyone's first prone), the race continues like a typical race, and all competitors shoot remaining prone, and two stands together. Or more simply:
Bib 1–30 = lap, shoot1, lap, lap, shoot2, lap, shoot3, lap, shoot4, lap
Bib 31–60 = lap, lap, shoot1, lap, shoot2, lap, shoot3, lap, shoot4, lap
Relay
The relay teams consist of four biathletes, who each ski 7.5 km (men) or 6 km (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. However, 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 there are still standing targets after eight bullets, one 150 m (490 ft) penalty loop must be taken for each missed target remaining. The first-leg participants all start simultaneously, 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 their position in the 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 mixed relay is similar to the ordinary relay, but the teams are composed of two women and two men. From its first instance at the
world championships
A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
in 2005 until the end of the
2017 season, the first two legs were always run by the women, followed by the men on legs 3 and 4. Since the
2018 season however, the race can be started by either the men or women . Additionally, throughout most the event's history, the women's legs have been and the men's legs as in ordinary relay competitions. However, since the
2019 season the event has all four legs being either or .
This event was added to the Olympics starting in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
.
Single mixed relay
In 2015, the single mixed relay was introduced to the Biathlon World Cup by the IBU. The event is run on a track with a penalty loop, and each team consists of a female and a male runner.
The race is divided into four legs, with the first three being or 2 laps and the final leg being or 3 laps, totalling . After each leg, the runners exchange so that each runner completes two legs. Specific to this format, the exchange happens immediately after the last shooting of each leg without skiing an additional lap (as is usually the case). The race can be started by either the female or male member of the relay,
with the finishing member performing an extra lap. This event was added to the world championships in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
.
Team (obsolete)
A team consists of four biathletes, but unlike the relay competition, all team members 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 (490 ft). The skiers must enter the shooting area together and must also finish within 15 seconds of each other; otherwise, a time penalty of one minute is added to the total time. Since 2004, this race format has been obsolete at the World Cup level.
Broadcasting
Biathlon events are broadcast most regularly where the sport enjoys its greatest popularity, namely Germany (
ARD,
ZDF
ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
), Austria (
ORF
ORF or Orf may refer to:
* Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF
* Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute
* One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel
* Open reading frame, a portion of the ...
), Norway (
NRK
NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...
), France (
L'Équipe 21
''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby football, rugby, motorsport, and cycle sport, ...
), Finland (
YLE
Yleisradio Oy (Finnish, literally "General Radio Ltd." or "General Broadcast Ltd."; abbr. Yle ; sv, Rundradion Ab, italics=no), translated to English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founde ...
),
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
(
ETV
ETV may stand for:
Television
* e.tv, a South African terrestrial television channel
* Educational Television (Hong Kong), a television series
* Educational television, the use of television in education
* Enhanced TV, an interactive television ap ...
),
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
(
LTV),
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
(
LRT),
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
(
HRT), Poland (
Polsat
Polsat is a Polish free-to-air television channel that was launched on 5 December 1992 by Zygmunt Solorz-Żak. , it is the most watched television channel in Poland with a market share of 11.30%
Polsat belongs to Grupa Polsat Plus ( WSECPS, whi ...
), Ukraine (
UA:PBC), Sweden (
SVT), Russia (
Match TV
Match TV (russian: Матч ТВ) is a Russian federal sports channel owned by Gazprom Media.
The channel began broadcasting on November 1, 2015 and was created in accordance with the order of Russian president Vladimir Putin, with the assista ...
,
Channel One),
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
(
TVR),
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
(
RTV),
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
(
BHRT
BHRT (Bosnian-Herzegovinian Radio Television) ''Bosanskohercegovačka radiotelevizija''/ ''Босанскохерцеговачка радиотелевизија'') formerly known as PBSBiH (Public Broadcasting Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina ...
),
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
(
BNT
The Bulgarian National Television (Bulgarian: Българска национална телевизия, ''Balgarska natsionalna televizia'') or BNT (БНТ), stylized as ·Б·Н·Т· since 2018, is a public television broadcaster of Bulgaria. ...
), and
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
(
KBS); it is broadcast on European-wide
Eurosport
Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through Warner Bros. Discovery Sports#Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe properties, its international sports unit, it operates two ...
, which also broadcasts to the Asia-Pacific region. World Cup races are streamed via the IBU website.
The broadcast distribution being one indicator, the constellation of a sport's main
sponsors usually gives a similar, and correlated, indication of popularity: for biathlon, these are the Germany-based companies
BMW (cars),
Erdinger
The Privatbrauerei Erdinger Weißbräu Werner Brombach GmbH (also known as Erdinger Weißbräu) is a brewery in Erding, Germany. Its best-known products are its namesake Weißbiers (wheat beer).
History
Erdinger is the world's largest wheat ...
(beer),
Viessmann
The Viessmann Group is a German manufacturer of heating and refrigeration systems headquartered in Allendorf (Eder), Germany. With 22 production companies in 12 countries, distribution companies and representative offices in 74 countries and 120 ...
(boilers and other heating systems) and
DKB (banking).
Biathlon records and statistics
The IBU maintains biathlon records, rules, news, videos, and statistics for many years back, all of which are available at its web site.
See also
*
Biathlon World Cup
The Biathlon World Cup is a top-level biathlon season-long competition series. It has been held since the winter seasons of 1977–78 Biathlon World Cup, 1977–78 for men and 1982–83 Biathlon World Cup, 1982–83 for women. The women's seasons ...
*
Biathlon World Championships
The first Biathlon World Championships (BWCH) was held in 1958, with individual and team contests for men. The number of events has grown significantly over the years. Beginning in 1984, women biathletes had their own World Championships, and fina ...
*
List of Olympic medalists in biathlon
This is the complete list of Olympic medalists in biathlon.
Medalists in military patrol, a precursor to biathlon, are listed separately.
Men
The numbers in brackets denotes biathletes who won gold medal in corresponding disciplines more than o ...
*
Paralympic biathlon
Paralympic biathlon is an adaptation of biathlon for athletes with a disability. Paralympic biathlon is one of two Nordic skiing disciplines in the Winter Paralympic Games. It is governed by the International Paralympic Committee.
Paralympic biat ...
*
Nordic field biathlon
Nordic field biathlon (''Norwegian'': skifeltskyting) is a combined cross-country skiing and shooting sport discipline within Det frivillige Skyttervesen. The sport is considered a close predecessor to olympic biathlon, with the main difference b ...
and
moose biathlon
Moose biathlon ( fi, Hirvenhiihto) is a variation of the winter sport biathlon comprising cross-country skiing, range estimation of paper targets resembling a moose and rifle shooting at a 10 ringed target using fullbore biathlon rifles. Competiti ...
, Nordic biathlon variants using fullbore rifles
Biathlon's two sports disciplines:
*
Cross-country skiing (sport)
Competitive cross-country skiing encompasses a variety of race formats and course lengths. Rules of cross-country skiing are sanctioned by the International Ski Federation and by various national organizations. International competitions inc ...
*
Rifle shooting sports
A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with bo ...
Other multi-discipline sports (otherwise unrelated to biathlon):
*
Duathlon
Duathlon is an athletic event that consists of a running leg, followed by a cycling leg and then another running leg in a format similar to triathlons. The International Triathlon Union governs the sport internationally.
Distance and format
...
*
Nordic Combined
Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first ever 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympic ...
*
Triathlon
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...
*
Pentathlon
A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...
*
Modern pentathlon
The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anci ...
*
Heptathlon
A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...
*
Decathlon
The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...
*
Chess boxing
*
Omnium
An omnium (from Latin '' Omni'': of all, belonging to all) is a multiple race event in track cycling. Historically the omnium has had a variety of formats. In recent years, road racing has also adopted the term to describe multi-day races that fe ...
(track cycling)
Notes and sources
External links
Biathlonworld.Comnbsp;– A cooperation between IBU and
EBU
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the Co ...
; with race results/statistics, TV schedules, live competition results, and so on.
National Associations
Belarusian Biathlon Union
Russian Biathlon Union
Russian Biathlon Union
Biathlon CanadaU.S. Biathlon AssociationBiathlon RussiaBiathlon Ukraine
Biathlon Ukraine
BiathlonFrance.com
{{Authority control
Cross-country skiing
Military sports
Multisports
Racing
Rifle shooting sports
Sports originating in Norway
Winter Olympic sports