Biathlon Stadium Antholz Schedule

Did You Know?

At Albertville in 1992, women were first allowed in Olympic biathlon.The competitions from 1958 to 1965 used high-power centerfire such as .30-06 Springfield and 7.62x51mm NATO, etc.

The ammunition was carried in a belt worn around the competitor's waist.

Other popular variants include summer biathlon, which combines cross-country running with riflery, modern biathlon and biathle, which combine running with swimming.The sport has its origins in an exercise for Norwegian soldiers, as an alternative training for the military.The world's first known ski club, the Trysil Rifle and Ski Club, was formed in Norway in 1861 to promote national defense at the local level.Called military patrol, the combination of skiing and shooting was contested at the Olympic Winter Games in 1924, and then demonstrated in 1928, 1936, and 1948, but did not regain Olympic recognition then, as the small number of competing countries disagreed on the rules (see also Governing body, below).

However, biathlon usually refers specifically to the winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.

This newfound popularity aided the effort of having grunts in the biathlon gain entry into the Winter Olympics.The first World Championship in biathlon was held in 1958 in Austria, and in 1960 the sport was finally included in the Olympic Games.

During the mid-1950s, however, biathlon was introduced into the Russian and Swedish winter sport circuits and was widely enjoyed by the public.