Biathlon - The beauty of two sports in one

For all the challenges posed by the likes of the heptathlon, decathlon and triathlon in terms of needing to master multiple sporting disciplines, none of them are arguably as tough as the sport of biathlon.

It was originally created as an alternative to doing military service in Norway, where skiing and shooting were the two main disciplines that made up military service. Even though there were competitions organized at Rifle and Ski Clubs in Norway as far back as in the 1860s, it was only really in the 1950s when it was introduced into the winter sports circuits of the Soviet Union and Sweden that it really took off and started to be enjoyed as a competitive spectator sport.

That said, it had actually been an event contested in the Winter Olympic Games as far back as 1924, having been a demonstration sport in three further editions before becoming officially introduced at the 1960 Winter Olympics for men and 1992 for women. 

Biathlon is essentially a cross-country skiing race where the competitors stop at intervals to shoot at targets with their rifles. The number of stops can be two or four depending on the competition in question and half of the shooting is done from a standing position and half is done while in the prone position (lying down on your stomach). Missing the target results in added time to your total time or added distance, again depending on the competition. 

The main events in biathlon are the World Cup, World Championships and they’re also a permanent fixture now in the Winter Olympics. They can be contested individually or in a relay format.

On Betsson you can bet on all the main biathlon events. It’s a really fun event because the shooting element can allow the competitors to peg back crucial seconds and can also see the leaders falter very quickly if they’re off target, making it perfect for Live Betting.