2022-23 FIS XC Skiing & IBU Biathlon

[j44ke]

If you can find it, watch the women’s 10K staggered start freestyle in Lillehammer. Great race.

[TonyP]

I enjoy watching Biathlon. Settling into their sights and reining in their breathing to break a shot, those athletes are impressive.

It's a sporting event that I'd like to try.

[72gmc]

I don’t need to understand the commentary to enjoy this sport!

[j44ke]

I enjoy watching Biathlon. Settling into their sights and reining in their breathing to break a shot, those athletes are impressive.

It's a sporting event that I'd like to try.

Biathlon is great. As I understand it, most of the competitors now are second tier cross country skiers who are taught how to shoot. Originally biathlon was part of military training for the Norwegian army, and one of the tasks was shooting at a target while descending a hill on skis. Or something like that. My wife suggested we set up a biathlon course on our property but instead of shooting targets, we would take a photo of targets at slow shutter speed. The person who finished first with the sharpest photos wins. We haven't tried it yet.

[72gmc]

Is Stina Nilsson improving on the range? Nothing second-tier about her skiing …

[j44ke]

Is Stina Nilsson improving on the range? Nothing second-tier about her skiing …

Just Kontiolahti so far this season. She finished 59th with 3 missed in sprint and 42 with 4 misses in individual. I didn't see any coverage on Eurosport. She had a moment last year where she cleaned all her targets and finished in the top 5 at least. I remember the presenters getting excited about it. That's when I heard the discussion about second tier skiers being taught how to shoot. Heart rate management must be a big part of shooting and very different from XC ski racing in that regard. Her skiing is obviously better than most biathletes. You can see why a biathlon coach would get excited.

edit: As soon as I say I can't find it, the coverage pops up. This is in Czech.



It will be interesting to see if Vittozzi has shaken her yips with the rifle. Last year it was almost like she was shooting with a bent rifle. No one seemed to have any solutions, not least of which Vittozzi herself.

edit: Hey Vittozzi missed one and came in second overall! Whoopah!

[j44ke]

Holy smokes. Amazing to watch the men race uphill in the mixed classic sprints. Ben Ogden looked like he didn’t have skis on! Geez whiz.

- This is at Beitostolen Norway btw.