Opinion Why are those skiers shooting?

Why are those skiers shooting?

pulse

February 10, 2018 12:46 PM

A decathlon has 10 events, a heptathlon has seven and a triathlon has three. The biathlon, then, has just two. And an odd couple they are: cross-country skiing and shooting.

This eccentric competition has been contested in various forms since the 18th century and has been part of the Olympics since 1924 (when it was known, more descriptively, as the military ski patrol).

Biathlon today is a standard cross-country ski race with periodic interruptions in which the athletes pull a rifle off their backs, point it at a target and shoot. Missed targets mean racers have to ski a 150-meter penalty lap.

You might wonder how adding periodic shooting to a cross-country ski race could add excitement. But hold on.

In a typical cross-country skiing race, the top skiers get to the front very quickly. Maybe there’s a late pass or two, but usually you can identify the medalists early.

But in biathlon, the shooting aspect is a wild card that throws every race in doubt until near the finish. A leader who misses a shot or three can fall well back because of the penalty loops. A skier who appears to be out of it can hit every target and vault toward the front.

One of the incongruities of the sport is the drastic differences in the physical skill sets that the two disciplines require.

Cross-country skiing is a punishing aerobic sport, rewarding exceptionally fit athletes. Shooting requires motionless calm and precision, to the point that world-class shooters sometimes try to time their shots so they are taken between their heartbeats.

One athlete has dominated men’s biathlon for the last seven years: Martin Fourcade of France. He has the ability to win all four individual events, which range in distance from 10 to 20 kilometers, and add to his two gold medals from Sochi.

Two Norwegian brothers, Johannes Thingnes Bo and Tarjei Bo, will try to stop him. Together the three have won all 15 World Cup events this year, along with 10 second-place finishes and five thirds.

Lowell Bailey of the United States won a surprise world championship last year, but must still be considered a long shot. No American has ever won a biathlon medal at the Games.

The women’s races will be more competitive, with Germans, Belarussians, Slovakians, Frenchwomen, Italians, Norwegians and Finns all thinking about gold. There will be men’s, women’s and mixed-gender relays, as well.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

pulse