Shooting features prominently in the biathlon at the Winter Olympics. Here are the disciplines, categories and rules before the Games begin in Beijing.
Germany has dominated the sport since its inception at the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics, leading all nations with 52 total medals and 19 golds. Norway, Russia and France have also been competitive in the sport, something that the United States is unable to say. Team USA has never medaled in the biathlon.While skiing, the athlete carries his or her gun – a small-bore rifle, weighing at least 3.5 kg. The rifle is bolt action or straight-pull bolt action, holding four magazines with five rounds each.
The target range shooting distance is 50 meters. There are five shooting targets on the board across the range that athletes must hit to move on. When the shooters hit each target, the black circle flips to white, giving athletes and spectators the visual confirmation of a successful shot.There are 11 biathlon events at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, running through Feb.
Each event has a different amount of shooting segments. Individual competitions have four shooting segments with five targets each. Sprint events are half the distance of individuals, with just two shooting segments. Pursuit and mass start competitions also have four shooting segments. Relay events – men’s, women’s and mixed – have two shooting segments.
All events will take place at the National Biathlon Centre in the Zhangjiakou cluster, just north of Beijing.
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