ANTERSELVA, Italy (AP) — The sport of biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing and precision target shooting, requires hundreds of hours of training annually and the ability to push your body to the maximum effort for an athlete to have a chance of success at the Olympics.
Biathletes also require special (and extremely expensive) equipment to compete at the top levels. Their gear includes thousands of bullets, dozens of skis and poles and a team
of coaches and technicians to keep everything running smoothly.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the key numbers that explain what goes into the sport of biathlon.
The number of technicians who prepare hundreds of skis with special waxes and grinds to ensure the best glide for the day during World Cup, World Championship and Olympic events. The technicians will spend dozens of hours testing the skis on the snow before they can be used in a race.
That's how many pairs of skis each biathlete has at a race. Each one is different. Each has a certain flex for hard or soft snow surfaces, special waxes that repel moisture or stand up to cold, sharp snow crystals. The base of the ski will be prepared with various grinds that respond to various snow conditions.
The number of hours a World Cup biathlete will train each year, according to Finnish head coach Erik Torneus-Kulstad. That's in addition to time spent practicing shooting, both inside without ammunition — called “dry fire” — and at the range. German biathlon head coach Tobias Reiter said his athletes train 700 to 800 hours per year.
The number of bullets a top biathlete will shoot each year, both in training and at competitions. Each rifle carries four magazines that hold five bullets each. The sprint and relay races use two magazines, while the longer individual, pursuit and mass start races require 20 bullets. They also go through multiple magazines when zeroing the rifle before a race.
That's how much a biathlon rifle generally costs in U.S. dollars. The most popular biathlon rifle, the German-made Anschütz, is specially designed to withstand cold temperatures. It's light but strong, includes a harness for carrying, snow covers over the front and rear sights and a handpiece for standing shooting. Each rifle stock is crafted to fit the biathlete's body - much like a racing bike.
The maximum heart rate a biathlete will reach while climbing a difficult hill in a race. That number will drop to about 160 when they come into the range and start shooting.
The number of races a top biathlete will compete in each year. Racing on the World Cup means a lot of travel. Racing keeps biathletes sharp, as long as they're able to recover properly between events.
The maximum kilometers per hour a biathlete might hit while skiing downhill in a race.
The number of ski poles a biathlete might break each year. Biathletes don't often bump shoulders like cross-country skiers in sprint races, but they'll sometimes break a pole in a fall or when interacting with others on the ski track.
That's the number of firing pins an athlete will break each season in their .22-caliber rifles. The firing pins are encased inside the bolt. The pin strikes the edge of the rimfire cartridge to send the bullet down the range. They can break during a misfire on the range or when the athlete is practicing shooting without ammunition. Changing a firing pin can take three or four minutes. German coach Reiter said his athletes will break five to 10 firing pins each year, mostly during dry-fire sessions. Finnish coach Torneus-Kulstad said his team might break one or two.
“If they don’t break one then I’m a little bit disappointed,” Torneus-Kulstad said. “I want them to dry fire. I want them to just go for it. If it breaks, it breaks. It’s part of everything here. It’s equipment you need to use. If it’s not breaking the question is more like have you even dry-fired?”
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
