Biathlon is an incredible Olympic sport to master. Cross-country skiing with a rifle on your back could only be a great sport. It couples two contrasting elements which fight one another throughout the grueling endurance race.
The first is chaotic as it is made up of adrenaline, high heart rate, and sweat. You need all your muscles going to push along the trail on cross-country skis. At the highest level of competition, which the Olympics certainly represents, the course can include some steep climbs. The strength and endurance needed to excel at this half of biathlon is extraordinary.
The second element to contend with is a calming stillness, which is essential to accurate target shooting. After the skier has whipped up his adrenaline, has a high heart, and is, unavoidably sweating from the cross-country course, he must stop, position himself in front of his targets and fire five accurate shots. In-order to hit those targets, the shooter must calm himself, lower his heart rate, and chill out on the sweating for a moment. The calm and stillness required are the polar opposites of the elements needed on the cross-country course. The penalty for missing a target is severe. Depending on the event, a miss means a lap around the penalty circle. An extra lap adds time and a perfect shooter will be able to distance himself from anyone stuck in the penalty lap.
Originally, biathlon was a military training exercise in Scandinavia before it was an athletic competition. Encyclopedia Britannia explains its inclusion in the Olympics-
“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.”
The biathlon we see today was officially added to the Olympics in 1960.
Norwegians are good at biathlon. It’s easy to imagine them skiing to work with a rifle for protection against wildlife. Whether that’s the reality over there or not is none of my interest. I’m just interested in watching armed athletes compete against each other. The French have been winning in this year’s Olympics. Americans are not great at this event.
Not to be discouraging in anyway, but one of the reasons biathlon is such a big Olympic draw for me is because it comes around once every four years. I can’t imagine watching this sport for an entire season every year. Americans don’t have to grow up rooting for a favorite skier (thank God for Michael Jordan). Two weeks every four years is perfect. It almost seems new each time.
From high adrenaline to a clam stillness and back again for several laps is far too difficult for most. The full range of human capacity is on display in biathlon. No other sport can claim such contrasting qualities needed for success.