The last couple of days I have been enjoying the mid-Russian hosted Biathlon championships. This is a sport I've loosely watched in the past, Olympics and the odd event when nothing else is on, but the biathlon has now become my favourite winter sport.
A combination of cross-country and shooting the skill comes down to being the most efficient you can be. They say the fittest athletes have the fastest pulse recovery rate and in biathlon that is exactly what makes the difference. You can sprint flat out and take your oxygenating heart beat to the highest it can but if you cannot bring that back under control to shoot with an accuracy and speed required for this sport then you will pay the price, and tumble down the positions.
And this comes before including any tactics. The course in Tyumen, Russia is unusually profiled with the final run into the shooting range being most of the downhill in the course. This means the early cross-country sector is uphill and those who struggle to reduce their heart beat get an advantage with a long run into shoot.
Today, after some exciting relays yesterday, I am watching the men's 10km sprint. A time-trial of biathlon, each athlete leaves in intervals onto a 3.3km track with 5 heavy uphill climbs but still with the long downhill into the range.
For those who have it, it's on Eurosport 1 now.
No comments:
Post a Comment