Biathlon

Biathlon is a winter sport combining cross-country skiing with rifle shooting. Competitors ski a course and shoot at targets, receiving penalties for misses.

Biathlon rifle: A small-bore rifle used by biathletes to shoot at targets from prone and standing positions. Its design balances low weight for skiing with accuracy on the range.
Skating technique: A cross-country skiing technique that uses angled ski push-offs similar to skating strides. It is the main skiing style used in modern biathlon races.
Military patrol: A winter military competition combining skiing, shooting, and team movement across snow. It was biathlon’s predecessor and appeared at the 1924 Winter Olympics as a demonstration event.
Nordic skiing: A family of skiing disciplines centered on forward travel across varied terrain, including cross-country skiing and ski jumping. Biathlon shares its endurance-skiing foundation with Nordic disciplines.
Biathlon shooting: The prone and standing target-shooting stages within a biathlon race. Shooting accuracy determines whether competitors incur time or distance penalties.
Classic technique: A cross-country skiing technique in which skis move forward in parallel tracks with a striding motion. It contrasts with the skating technique used in biathlon competitions.
1924 Winter Olympics: The first Winter Olympic Games, held in Chamonix, France. Military patrol, the forerunner of biathlon, was contested there as a demonstration sport.
Ski orienteering: A navigation sport in which competitors travel on skis between mapped control points. It combines skiing with route-finding rather than rifle shooting.
Biathlon penalty loop: A short course segment that biathletes ski for each missed target in many race formats. It converts missed shots into extra skiing distance.
Small-bore rifle: A rifle chambered for ammunition with a bullet diameter of .22 inch or less. Biathlon rifles belong to this firearm class, with rules specifying .22-caliber ammunition.

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