Biathlon at the Sochi Winter Olympics

[HeadHunter]

There have been some exciting biathlon races so far in the Olympics. Also some interesting lessons from the Olympians' performances and statements.

Fourcade of France won Men’s Biathlon Pursuit after Bjoerndalen took the Gold in the Sprint in an unexpected win.

One miss on the range kept Ole Einar Bjoerndalen from breaking the record for most Winter Olympic medals. Two misses cost him the Gold medal. We don't have to talk about the third miss. He does still have a 'shot' at breaking the record in the Relay and Mass Start events.

http://exm.nr/1go9prM

In another upset in Biathlon, the ninth place starter came from behind to win Women's Pursuit.

Marksmanship, or lack thereof, hurt the female US biathletes badly. Susan Dunklee noted that she had a momentary lapse of concentration going into the fourth shoot and then missed three targets for a total of four. It would have been close but that may have cost her the Bronze. The medalists each missed only one target.

http://exm.nr/1jv4pGT

There are a number of lessons to be learned from the Olympians. They didn't get where they are by whistling Dixie. I think Biathlon is so interesting because it combines a very difficult endurance event with a demanding marksmanship task. They have to switch back and forth in an instant.

[Dkrad1935]

I have done biathlon - although it was a military version. Which means different rifles and different skis! But it is hard to hold a rifle steady after skiing hard.