{"id":178,"date":"2009-12-20T16:08:24","date_gmt":"2009-12-20T20:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/?p=178"},"modified":"2009-12-20T16:08:24","modified_gmt":"2009-12-20T20:08:24","slug":"biathalon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/biathalon\/","title":{"rendered":"Biathalon"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most obscure sports in the United States, biathlon is one of the most popular winter sports in Europe.\u00a0 Many of you may never have even heard about it.\u00a0 I wouldn’t have known about it had I not lived in Norway and seen it in aviser<\/strong> (newspapers) and p\u00e5 tv<\/strong> (on tv).\u00a0 You just don’t really hear about it at all in the United States.\u00a0 Biathlon, although it is a term that can be used for any event involving two disciplines, usually refers to a winter sport that combines\u00a0cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.\u00a0 It seems like an odd combination, doesn’t it?\u00a0 You may wonder how and where\u00a0the sport originated, as well as why.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are actually rock paintings in Norway (dated back to 3000 BC) that depict hunters with bows and arrows on wooden skis.\u00a0 Norway’s topography made warfare and hunting\u00a0during the winter quite challenging.\u00a0 Hunters and warriors had to be creative and use the resources that mother earth provided for them.\u00a0 Skis were the fastest mode of transport during the winter.\u00a0 In addition to rock paintings dating back to the Neolithic Age, there are written descriptions of cross-country skiing and\u00a0hunting dating back also to BC in Roman, Greek, and Chinese history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Norway was the first country to organize biathlon competitions.\u00a0 In the same year that the United States Declaration of Independence was signed, 1776, Norwegians participated in the first recognizable organized biathlon competition.\u00a0 The world’s first known ski club, the Trysil Rifle and Ski Club, was formed in Norway in 1861 to promote national defence on a local level.\u00a0 Military patrol, as skiing and shooting is also referred as, is an alternative form of military training.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Russia, Sweden, Germany, and Austria were the next countries to show interest in the sport.\u00a0 Austria hosted the first World Championship in 1958.\u00a0 In 1960, the sport was incorporated into the Olympic winter games.\u00a0 There are major biathlon venues in the following countries:\u00a0 Norway, Austria, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Belarus, France, Poland, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the United States.\u00a0 Norway has 3 major biathlon venues at Holmenkollen, in Lillehammer, and Beitost\u00f8len.<\/p>\n

You can find detailed information about the rules of the sport, but the general idea is that the biathlete is required to ski a set distance around a track with his or her rifle to a shooting range, where a specified number of shots are required.\u00a0\u00a0The penalty\u00a0for missing targets is either a time penalty or penalty laps.\u00a0 There are also rules about when to be in the standing pose to shoot and when to be in the prone stance (kneeling).<\/p>\n

The most interesting characteristic of the sport to me is that it combines 2 extremely unlike activities-one that is very aerobic and\u00a0requires strength, speed, and endurance and another that is not aerobic and requires a great deal of concentration and steadiness.\u00a0 If I could hit a target, I think it would be really fun.\u00a0 Another reason to take shooting lessons…<\/p>\n

P\u00e5 norsk<\/strong>, the sport is often called skiskytting<\/strong> (ski shooting).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the most obscure sports in the United States, biathlon is one of the most popular winter sports in Europe.\u00a0 Many of you may never have even heard about it.\u00a0 I wouldn’t have known about it had I not lived in Norway and seen it in aviser (newspapers) and p\u00e5 tv (on tv).\u00a0 You…<\/p>\n

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