Bullets over Biathlon Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cross-country skiing and rifle shooting

In its standard format, biathlon consists of cross-country skiers navigating a course wherein they are tasked with stopping to shoot multiple targets. The competitor with the shortest time to complete the course wins. While it is historically tied to Norway and Scandinavia in its origins, competitors worldwide have participated in championship and Olympic events.

Answer: Prone position and standing position

Biathlon competitions have anywhere from 2-4 shooting rounds and half of the rounds are completed in the prone position, where the competitor is laying on their stomach, and the other half are in the standing position.

Answer: Nordic

In biathlon, the formats include: individual, sprint, super sprint, pursuit, mass start, mass start 60, relay, and mixed relay. That is a lot of formats. In the pursuit format, competitors have different start times based upon the results of a previous race. Mixed relay combines the format of standard relay formats, but is a mixed-sex race, where the relay group consists of 2 men and 2 women. Mass start is when all competitors begin at the same time and the first person to cross the finish line is the winner.

Nordic combined is an entirely separate competition that includes cross-country skiing and ski jumping, but it is not a biathlon format.

Answer: 150 meters

Biathlon has a lot of rules and regulations that must be adhered to in competition and penalties exist for nearly all infractions. The International Biathlon Union has its own Constitution and Congress, which adopted and published its comprehensive rules in 2011.

Answer: Bolt-Action

Competition rifles must be bolt action or Fortner rifles, which are a specific style of bolt action rifles where there is a straight-pull that is inline with the gun's barrelled action. Fortunately the rifles are equipped with safety devices as competitors must carry them throughout the race.

Answer: Military

When the sport first appeared in the Winter Olympic games, it was known as 'military patrol,' but the name evolved until the 1950s when it became more known as biathlon because there were more formalized and agreed upon rules by the various nations that had been participating in the sport.

The ability for troops to be agile and capable of hitting targets precisely while on/off skis proved to be a clever method for Scandinavian military training.

Answer: False

Biathlon was previously called 'military patrol' and was a part of the Winter Olympic Games in 1924. While 'military patrol' also took place during the 1928, 1936, and 1948 Winter Games, it was considered only a 'demonstration' and no medals were awarded.

Biathlon did not become a recurring part of the Winter Olympic Games until 1960 with a Men's Individual event. It was not until 1992 that Olympic biathlon competition was available to women.

Answer: Skate skis

Skate skis operate more closely to ice skates, given their design. Skate skis require their own special boots, poles, and bindings. Most competition requires that skate skis be only 3-4 cm taller than the skiers height. Biathletes are encouraged to be adept in using classic skis, but they are not used in competition.

Classic, backcountry touring, and light touring are other kinds of Nordic skis used for cross-country, alpine touring, or telemark (combines Alpine and Nordic skiing).

Answer: five

Biathletes are only given one bullet per target, so the need for balanced breath and precision is essential. As mentioned in a previous question, missed shots result in a penalty, generally 150 meters penalty laps for each missed target. This process repeats itself at each firing range throughout the course.

Answer: True

Biathlon in the Winter Paralympic Games has a lot of flexibility for competitors, including allowing wheelchair-bound biathletes to shoot in sitting position, and allowing visually impaired biathletes to shoot laser guns with sound indicators when the target is hit successfully.