06 Biathlon / Betfair Education / 25 March 2008 / Leave a comment

Biathlon is a sporting event made up of two disciplines; cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. A biathlon competition consists of a race in which contestants ski around a cross-country track, with the total distance is broken up by either two or four shooting rounds, half in prone position (laying down), the other half standing. The target distance is 50 metres, and there are five targets in each shooting round. Missing targets means extra distance or time is added to the contestant's total running distance/time. As in most races, the contestant with the shortest total time wins.

There are five different racing formats: Sprint, Pursuit, Individual, Mass Start and Relay.

Sprint: 7.5km for women and 10km for men with two shooting rounds of five shots each, one round prone and one standing. For each missed target a 150m penalty loop must be skied before the race can be continued. Competitors start thirty seconds apart according to a start list.

Pursuit: Starting positions are separated by the time difference from a previous Sprint event, the contestant crossing the finish line first is the winner. The distance is 12.5km for men, and 10km for women. There are four shooting rounds, two in prone and two in standing position. For each missed target, there is a 150m penalty loop to be skied before the race can be continued.

Individual: A 20km race for men, and 15km for women. Biathletes shoot four rounds for a total of 20 shots, two rounds in prone and two rounds in standing position. For each missed target, one minute is added to the contestant's total time. Competitors start thirty seconds apart according to a start list.

Mass Start: 15km for men and 12.5km for women. In this event all the contestants start at the same time, the first contestant to cross the finish-line wins. There are four rounds of shooting (two prone, two standing) and for each missed target the contestant must ski a penalty loop of 150 metres before he can continue the race.

Relay: The relay consists of a team of four biathletes from each nation, who each ski 7.5km (women) or 10km (men). There are two shooting rounds, one prone and one standing, and each athlete has eight bullets to hit the five targets. If you can't hit the five targets in eight shots, one penalty loop of 150 metres must be skied for each missed target before the race can be continued.