I watched my first Olympic Biathlon events this afternoon, and I have to say, it was a good experience. The first event was the women's 10 km Pursuit, and it didn't take long to discover why this is the most popular format for biathlon. Accurate shooting really helps, as was proven by underdog Marie Laure Brunet of France, whose perfect shooting allowed her to come from behind to win bronze - and I was amused at the duct tape on her rifle's blinder. Kinda reminds us that these are regular people, who can really shoot, and can win medals with duct-taped gear.
Even more impressive than the shooting (for a non-athlete like myself) was the skiing. These people are tough! There's no doubt that one must be a true athlete in order to do well in this sport. And don't count anyone out just because they're lagging behind a little - because a miss or two at the target range can really shake up the rankings.
Watching Germany's 23-year-old Magdalena Neuner win her gold medal was a real joy. The grin she wore as she steamed across the finish line reflected the pure joy of her win. Biathlon is very popular in Europe, and I understand that in Germany it's pretty much at the top of the heap, so I'm sure Neuner will be much acclaimed in her own country as a result of that win.
In the men's 12.5 km pursuit, errors in the starting order really cast a pall over the race. Results had been adjusted accordingly by the race's end, but the point of Pursuit is supposed to be that each player always knows where he or she stands, which isn't possible in other types of biathlon (in which each player's total time dictates winners and losers) - and one American and one Canadian ended up leaving their gates earlier than they should have, which was confusing at best. Apparently there was a starting error in the women's event as well, but it didn't seem to affect the event leaders. You can read up on Olympic Biathlon Rules, if you'd like to know more.
In the end, USA's lackluster biathlon performance continued, and the gold medal went to Swede Björn Ferry - while France once again took bronze - their third bronze in biathlon so far, and fourth medal overall (Frenchman Vincent Jay won gold in Sunday's Sprint competition). So far, the French have medaled in every biathlon event.
The shooting portion of Biathlon really happens fast, and it plays a large part in determining winners and losers. Each miss incurs a penalty - and I saw many misses today - which means that perfect shooting can really help a biathlete move forward in a race.
All in all, I enjoyed watching the events, and I'll certainly be recording and watching future biathlons on my DVR. Fast-paced shooting combined with physically demanding exertion... I thought it was pretty impressive. I'm looking forward to the next biathlon events, coming up on Thursday, Feb 18. See the schedule & results page for more info.
All About the Olympic Biathlon: History, Event Descriptions, Rules, Etc.
Olympic Biathlon 2010 Event Schedule and Results
http://hunting.about.com/od/olympics/a/olympics_biathlon2010schedule.htm
Olympic Biathlon: Impressive Shooting, Fast Action, and Unpredictable Results. originally appeared on About.com Hunting / Shooting on Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at 18:41:52.
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