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Formats
Biathlon has come a long way from the days of friendly competitions held deep in the woods on the Scandinavian border. In fact, many of the formats were only raced for the first time in the past decade.
Individual
This is the classic biathlon race. Men compete over a distance of 20-kilometers, in which they ski five loops and shoot four times – prone, standing, prone, standing. Women do the same format, but the race is 15-kilometers. Athletes start alone and are essentially racing against the clock. For each missed target, they receive a one-minute penalty, which is added onto their time after they finish. This race takes a lot of concentration and honed shooting skills. Athletes are often found using a little extra time on the range to assure that their targets go down.
Sprint
Another classic biathlon race, except of a much higher pace. Men compete over a distance of 10-kilometers, skiing three loops and stopping to shoot twice – prone, standing. Women race 7.5-kilometers. For each missed target, the biathletes must ski an additional 150-meters after exiting the shooting range and before returning to the competition track. The penalty loop takes 20-25 seconds. Each competitor starts alone, usually with thirty seconds between each starter. This race often finds the faster skiers excelling, though shooting still remains important.
Pursuit
This event made its Olympic debut at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. Competitors start based upon their finish in a sprint race, usually held a day or two before. The winner of the sprint race starts, with the second place finisher starting however much he finished back from the winner in the sprint. Only sixty athletes are permitted to start. Their start times are also based upon their finish time behind the winner of the sprint race. (The pursuit race can also be held based upon an individual race. In this case, the start times are halved.)
Men ski a total of 12.5-kilometers, while women race 10-kilometers. The biathletes stop to shoot four times – prone, prone, standing, standing. As in the sprint, they complete a 150-meter penalty loop for each missed target. The leading starter certainly has an advantage, but remember he also has to worry about the hunters behind him.
Mass Start
This event will make its Olympic debut at the Torino Games in 2006. It is a very exciting addition to the biathlon scene, liked by both the athletes and spectators. Thirty biathletes take to the start line together to be started by a pistol shot. They complete five loops, stopping to shoot four times – prone, prone, standing, standing. For each miss, they must ski a 150-meter penalty loop.
Men race over a distance of 15-kilometers, with women racing 12.5-kilometers. The spectator will find that the first loop prior to the first shooting stage looks rather mellow. This is because shooting will narrow the lead pack as the race continues, with the winner being the one who can handle both the mental pressure on the shooting range and manage to ski equally fast.
Relay
This event is truly remarkable because it brings the element of team to a very individual sport. The race pits teams of four, one representing each competing nation on the World Cup, against each other. One member of each team starts mass-start style. Each biathlete skis a total of three laps, stopping to shoot twice – prone, standing.
The catch is that for each shooting bout, the biathlete is allowed eight bullets to hit five targets. The three extra rounds (in other races, competitors use clips that can hold only five bullets) are loaded manually. If the athlete still fails to hit all five, then he must do a 150-meter penalty lap for each miss.
Men compete over a distance of 7.5-kilometers per member, with women doing a shortened 6-kilometer race. Many relay races are clearly decided by the fourth leg, but a few are thrillers to the end, including the Salt Lake Games men's relay, which featured five teams battling each other going into the final shooting stage. Only one could win...
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