Biathlon: the history of origin and development

One of the most popular winter sports is biathlon. The history of its appearance and development was not easy. But now this sport has more and more fans.

History of appearance

One of the most interesting and exciting sports in the winter is considered to be biathlon, the history of which lies in the ordinary life of the ancient peoples of the North. They used skis for hunting in the winter. This, you could say, was the first biathlon.

The history of the emergence of classical biathlon as a sport has about two hundred and fifty years. He takes his origin in Norway, where local border guards in 1767 on the border with Sweden organized competitions in shooting at targets while descending on skis from the mountain.

However, as a sport biathlon development and distribution was received only in the early twentieth century. But it happened with some difficulties.

For the first time in the twenties of the last century, at large-scale competitions, games similar to biathlon were held. The history of the Olympic Games, which was hosted by France, speaks of competitions called "patrol race". But soon this sport failed. In the Olympic Games in 1948, the program was struck off biathlon, the rules of the competition in which at that time had not yet been unified.

But in the fifties he was still approved as an independent sport in the pentathlon. Since 1992, biathlon is separated from the pentathlon. In 1993, the International Biathlon Union was formed, which now includes more than sixty countries.

Rules of the game and equipment

In the classical biathlon, there are the following rules of equipment:

• The width of the skis must be at least four centimeters.
• The maximum length of the ski is not limited.
• All sorts of improvements in equipment are forbidden.
• It is forbidden to use ski poles with the possibility of changing the length and force of the push.
• When moving, the rifle is located on the back of the player.
• Do not use automatic weapons.
• The caliber of the rifle is 5.6 mm.
• The rifles use a conventional dioptric sight.

According to existing rules, shooting is carried out from a distance of fifty meters. The target is presented in the form of a white plate with five circles of black color with a diameter of eleven and a half centimeters.

With a successful shot, the circle is closed by a valve, which makes it possible to immediately evaluate the result.

The rules define two types of target shooting:

• Standing.
• Lying down.

When shooting standing, it is considered effective to hit the black circle, and in the second way of shooting - into the inner circle, which has a diameter of four and a half centimeters.

On the way of the movement of athletes have several shooting ranges, each of which is given five rounds.

Types of racing in classical biathlon

Classic biathlon today includes six types of races:

• The relay race is a team game consisting of three or four sections. The athlete who runs his section of the track, passes the baton to the next player. The length of the route is seven and a half kilometers for men and six for women. At each stage there are two positions for shooting. The first shooting is carried out in the prone position, the second is standing.
• Mixed Relay. It involves athletes and male and female. Women run on the first and second run of six kilometers, men on the third and fourth - for seven kilometers. The relay begins with a one-time start of the athletes. The participant, having finished his stage of the race, transfers it to the next member of the team. Initially, the track runs through women, then men. The first shooting is carried out in a lying position, the second - standing.
• Sprint - a race with two points for shooting, which uses an interval start for men ten kilometers, for women - for seven and a half kilometers. The race begins with the start at intervals of thirty seconds to one minute. The race distance consists of three circles of the same length. Running the first round, the athletes conduct shooting, while in a reclining position, running the second circle - in standing position. Athletes have the opportunity to independently choose the shooting range for shooting. When a miss is awarded a penalty circle equal to one hundred and fifty meters.
• Individual race is a classic race in which men run a distance of twenty and women run fifteen kilometers using four points with targets. Athletes start at intervals of thirty seconds to one minute. At a miss to the total time of the race the biathlete adds one penalty minute.

• Persyut - a race with four lines, in which men run for twelve and a half kilometers, and women - for ten. Conduct a race of prosecution after the sprint race.
• Race from the general start - men run a distance of fifteen, women - twelve and a half kilometers. The race begins at the same time all participants of the competition. Shooting at shooting ranges is carried out in the order of arrival of players on the shooting range. At a miss, a penalty circle of one hundred and fifty meters is assigned.

Biathlon Species

Biathlon today has several varieties, in which, in addition to classical equipment, alternative weapons and movement are used. The most widespread in the world sports practice were the following varieties:

• Summer - this is biathlon, the rules of the competition in which the same as in the classic, but instead of skis use ski rollers or bicycles.
• Archeri - biathlon (the history of which began as a sport in 1975 in France) - a ski race with archery.
• On snowshoes. This type of biathlon is used for snowshoeing.
• Hunting. When it is used hunting rifles and skis.

Separation of biathletes by age

All athletes participating in biathlon competitions are divided into:

• Men and women are biathletes at the age of twenty one years and older.
• Juniors and juniors are persons between the ages of nineteen and twenty-one.
• Boys and girls are athletes who have not yet turned nineteen.

Classification

Biathlon competitions are held jointly with other disciplines, and separately. Independent biathlon competitions are divided into cup and non-cup competitions. In addition, there are also various commercial biathlon competitions.

So, the types of competitions in biathlon:

• Cup. The most important is the World Cup and the Open Cup of Europe. Also at the international level are the Cups of North and South America, Asia. In addition to international, there are national cups.
• Non-Cup competitions. The most famous non-cup match is the World Biathlon Championship. The next most important is the open European Championship, as well as the Championships of Asia, North and South America. At the national level, many countries also hold different championships.
• Commercial biathlon. These competitions have a specific goal - to attract a large number of spectators. In this regard, a large number of biathlon stars from different countries are invited to the competitions, and the rules of the races are changed to the format of the competitions themselves.

First achievements

The biathlon champions officially started their triumphal march in the sixties of the last century. The very first champion of the Olympic Games in this discipline was the representative of Sweden K. Lestander, and the first world champion was Swede A. Wiklund. The first owner of the World Cup was the German F. Ulrich in 1978.

In 1984, at the World Biathlon Championship among women, Soviet athlete V. Chernyshova became the first absolute world champion.

Popularity

Modern biathlon, whose history began in Northern Europe, spread throughout the world. More than forty countries participate in competitions in this sport, but it is most popular in Eastern and Central Europe, in the Russian Federation. Significant interest in biathlon is also shown by the countries of North America and China.