Biathlon is one of the most strenuous winter sports around. It involves cross country skiing and marksmanship tests with a rifle. Both men and women can compete in this sport and it is featured as both an Olympic sports as well as a world cup sport.
There is single competitor as well as relay style events in Biathlon. Originally the targets that were to be shot could be up to 250m away, but that was reduced in the 70’s to a much more reasonable 50m.
Biathlon is a gruelling but exciting event that offers fantastic online sports betting opportunities. The sport was originally dominated by Norwegian, Russian and Swedish competitors but today is a much more widely practiced sport.
The Many Sporting Events
There are 6 events in Biathlon. Firstly there are individual events. This race takes place over 20KM and with 4 shooting range sections with 20 targets each. A missed target can cost a competitor as much as 1 minute added to his total time.
The second is event is the shorter sprint event that has two shooting sections and a 10km race length. The third event is Pursuit where two competitors compete against each other, separated by their time difference accrued during previous races.
It offers some of the most exciting sports betting online action in Biathlon.
There are also relay events with two teams of 4 competitors each and mass start events. The mass start event usually features around 30 competitors. First across the finish line wins it.
The Winter Olympics
Biathlon in the Winter Olympics features mass start, individual, relay, pursuit and sprint events.
Germany, Norway and Russia usually dominate these events during the winter Olympics with more than 40 gold medals spread between these three countries.
The World Cup
The Biathlon World Cup is one of the newest biathlon events, having first been introduced in 1977. This events runs between November and March, with competitions taking place at various events across the world.
The winner of the cup is determined by the athletes with the highest scores. Again Russia, Norway and Germany always perform exceptionally in the events hosted during the World Cup.
The World Championship
The Biathlon World Championship takes place between February and March.
Both male and female competitors participate and a host of events is on offer comprised from the individual, sprint and other events of Biathlon.
Some athletes to look out for include Martin Fourcade , Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Serhiy Semenov and Emil Hegle Svendsen.
Why Online Sports Betting
The Biathlon offers bettors a unique and exciting betting opportunity online. It is a one of a kind event that shows athletes at the peak of their skill.
If you are unfamiliar with the sport don’t worry because you can find loads of info at esports betting sites that will help you out when deciding what wagers to place.
You can make a variety of real money wagers on all the events on offer. You will also get a few international world class events to wager on.