Biatholon. I Don't Get it.

[CO Liberal]

Cross-country skiing and target shooting??? :shrug:

[mr_hat]

1. When your heart is pumping and your lungs are heaving >

and you knees are shaking from trashing your body across the tundra, being able to hit a tiny little target requires Zen master control.

Also, it's a sport that emerged from real life as opposed to diversion.

Get it now, a little?

[ashmanonar]

2. what do you think ski couriers in wars (before there were radios) used to

defend themselves? snowballs?

[BOHICA06]

3. For Finnish Boarder Patrol Officers

its like old home week. Ski, ski, ski, pot a Nazi, ski, ski, ski, pot a Commie, ski ski ski .......

[driver8]

6. Now that's funny!!

But I think you may be right.

[Davis_X_Machina]

4. It's a way of life in far northern Europe...

...and Siberia, and Canada -- ski-hunting -- turned into a competition.

There's a summer Olympics event -- Modern Pentathlon -- that consists of the tasks a mounted courier of the Napoleonic period might have had to do -- ride, shoot, swim, fence, run -- in order to complete his mission.

Similar idea, I guess.

Biathlon's hard -- the ski-racing drives your breathing and pulse rates way up, and good shooting requires that you control and drive them both down. Biathletes are serious mind-over-body artists as a result.

[RoeBear]

5. What part don't you get?

It combines two very difficult and different disciplines.

A very aerobic exercise like cross country skiing
where you use the large muscle groups.

It must really get the heart beat racing.

Then you have to use your fine motor skills to accurately
aim at a distant target and squeeze off an accurate shot, quickly.

Doesn't sound easy to me.