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About Biathlon
 Biathlon is a sport that captures the attention and imagination of everyone who sees it. In so many ways, it is a typical Olympic endeavor - combining the most physically demanding sport of cross-country skiing with the intense precision of rifle marksmanship. These opposing disciplines collide at the shooting range. With their hearts pounding nearly three times a second, the athletes struggle to control their breathing as they shoot, knowing that every shot and the number of seconds it takes to make it, will determine who stands on the podium that day. It is this drama, combined with wonderful visual images of the competitors, which has lead biathlon to be the top rated winter sport on European TV.
Although US Biathletes are relatively unknown in North America, they are well respected and have been producing strong results in Europe. Our Development Team is among the strongest in the world with numerous medals at World Junior Championships and European Cup, including the best World Junior results for an American team in 2002. These athletes have graduated into the senior ranks and will be competing for spots on the 2006 Olympic Team.
is the winter Olympic sport combining cross-country skiing and rifle marksmanship. Alternating skiing and shooting, biathletes compete under the pressure of the clock that continues to run even as they stop to shoot. There is a penalty for each missed shot so biathletes must balance speed on the course and on the range with shooting accuracy. The athletes shoot from two positions - Prone and Standing - in various different sequences depending on the competition. In each shooting stage the athlete has five shots to hit five targets 50m down range. The target hit area for prone is 4.5cm (less than 2 inches) and 11.5cm (about 4.5 inches) for standing. When hit the black target turns white showing everyone the shot hit the target - or not. Biathlon has five Olympic disciplines for both women and men. | Biathlon Terminology Rifle  The biathlon rifle is a .22 caliber, straight-pull-bolt action model with non-optical sights. Equipped with the a harness to carry the rifle while skiing and a custom ultra light stock, the rifle is completely adapted to its special purpose. The minimum weight is 3.5 kg (just under 8 lbs). Arm Sling Belt or webbing attached to the rifle fore stock that hooks into the athlete's "shooting cuff" on the upper arm to stabilize the rifle while firing in the prone position. Harness
Backpack like shoulder straps used for carrying the rifle on the back. The average rifle weighs about eight pounds. Also visible in the photo is the rifle cover - used whenever the rifle is carried outside of the competition area.
For more info on Biathlon visit the US Biathlon Website at www.usbiathlon.org | Snow Cover Cap covering the rifle muzzle that prevents snow from entering the barrel or the front sight. It is flipped open at the range before shooting. Clips
 Used to hold five .22 caliber rifle rounds. Up to four clips can be stored in the rifle stock while the biathlete is skiing. At the range the clips are taken from the stock and inserted into the magazine well (a slot beneath the action) - thus loading the rifle. Skis Nordic skis are much narrower and much lighter than downhill skis. Each athlete picks a pair of skis before the race depending on the snow conditions and has their teams wax technician prepare them with race wax and get them fast and ready for the race.We use atomic skis because they are the fastest out there! Zeroing Zeroing takes place an hour before the start of the race. Each athlete shoots on paper to make sure their rifles are shooting in the center of the target. Adjustments are made to the sight.We use Brunton Scope for our zeroing! Targets  Biathletes shoot at 5 small metal plates that, when hit, are replaced with a white plate signalling a hit. There are two different sized targets, one for prone (a little bigger than silver dollar) and one for standing (about 4 inches wide).
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