We’re almost through our theme week on Winter Olympic sports! Today we’re talking about the Biathlon, which combines cross country skiing with rifle shooting. It has its origins in centuries-old Scandinavian hunting techniques. The military began doing training exercises with the same techniques, and it ultimately became a skills competition between the top performers. The Olympic biathlon competition consists of a race, with athletes cross country skiing through a trail system, which is broken up by either 2 or 4 shooting rounds. Half of these shooting rounds are done standing up, and the other half are done lying down on their stomachs. They shoot at targets that are 164 feet away. Standing shooters aim at a target that is 4.5 inches, which shooters lying down aim at one that is 1.8 inches. It became an official Olympic event in 1960, and Germany and Norway have dominated the competition. The biathlon is the only winter sport that United States has not won a medal! Learn more here.