Winter Olympics 2010 Guide: Biathlon

Biathlon / Editor / 08 February 2010 / Leave a comment

Norway’s Ole Einar Bjoerndalen arrives at Vancouver with nine Winter Olympic gold medals

It began as training for the Swedish military and has since featured some of the fittest athletes in the world. But who should you back to rule the roost where skiing and shooting are concerned?

"It is hard to see beyond Bjoerndalen while Russia's Olga Zaitseva is a fancy in the women’s Mass Start."

What is it?
These guys could teach Andy McNabb a thing or two about being a cold-blooded bastard. They are perhaps the fittest athletes on the planet. To compete in this sport you have to race over long cross-country distances but then stop off every so often to shoot at target 50 yards away. It requires utter control of your pulse-rate to be that accurate with five shots in 25 seconds. The targets are 45mm in diameter when a competitor is standing or 115mm when prone. A miss could give you a minute penalty or a 150-metre penalty loop. The variations of the event broadly follow the regular cross-country. There are women's and men's sprints, relays, mass start and pursuit

History
At the start of the 16th century this was military training in Scandinavian countries. The event was created by Norwegian soldiers and the world's first club, the Trysil, was established to promote home defence. In fact, when it was first involved in the 1924 Games it was actually called 'Military Patrol'. It disappeared soon afterwards but returned for the 1960 event. The pursuit and mass start varieties only have only come in since the turn of the Millennium. Two Russian women, Raisa Smetanina and Ljubov Yegorova, dominated the event in the 80s and 90s. However, the latter's legacy has been blighted by a positive drugs test.

Who to watch
Norway's Ole Einar Bjoerndalen arrives at Vancouver with nine Winter Olympic gold medals. He has a chance to break the all-time record of 12 held by compatriot Bjorn Daehlie. He is the favourite but he will be pushed all the way by Germany's Michael Greiss. Jay Hakkinen, of the United States, could challenge.

Fact!
Greiss was so popular at home after the Torino games that he pushed out Michael Schmuacher as Germany's Sportsman of the Year in 2006.

Best Bet
It is hard to see beyond Bjoerndalen while Russia's Olga Zaitseva is a fancy in the women's Mass Start.

Tags: biathlon betting, Vancouver 2010 betting, Winter Olympics betting