Ask a friend to describe a biathlon to you. Most likely, your friend will talk about running and biking, as in two parts of a triathlon. This is a common misconception about biathlon—and represents one of the sport’s biggest challenges, says Jack Gierhart, president and CEO of the U.S. Biathlon Association (USBA), the sport’s national governing body. It’s a mistake he hopes will fade as awareness continues to build about the winter sport, which actually combines the endurance of cross-country skiing with precision target shooting.
“Awareness is a challenge. Biathlon doesn’t have the broadcast coverage here in the U.S. as it does in Europe. [There], it’s the second most-watched sport after soccer, with regular broadcast coverage, November through March,” Gierhart says. “When it is available to watch here, people are captivated by it. We just don’t have that awareness level yet.”
As part of their awareness-building campaign, USBA works with biathlon clubs and centers across the country to organize training and competition from the grassroots to elite level. USBA also staffs and finances the U.S. Biathlon National Team and Junior National Team.
The sport is about as well-known as curling, another lesser-appreciated winter sport, says Seth Hubbard, who coaches the elite biathlete team and also runs amateur biathlon training clinics at Crosscut Mountain Sports Center in Bozeman, Mont. “Like with curling, people see biathlon every four years in the Olympics, and they get interested in it,” Hubbard says. “They watch and appreciate the skill and the challenges involved, but they don’t have an easy way after the Olympics to follow the sport or see it in action.”
Despite its under-the-radar status in the U.S., biathlon is an old, well-established sport with a history tracing back centuries to Scandinavian hunters on skis with bows and arrows. The modern evolution of the sport dates from the mid-1800s when soldiers in Norway and Sweden tested their skills by combining training in cross-country skiing with sharpshooting. After WWII, the combination of Nordic-style cross-country skiing and precision target shooting became more accepted as a sport. It was officially recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1954, with the first world championships in 1958 and the first Winter Olympics appearance in 1960.
America’s interest in and awareness of the sport got a big boost at the 2022 Beijing Olympics when Deedra Irwin, U.S. National Team member, finished seventh, setting a U.S. biathlon record for best finish at any Olympics. “The United States has never won an Olympic medal in biathlon, but through sustained competitive excellence over the next few years, we have our sights set on a medal at the next Olympics,” says Sara Donatello, communications coordinator for USBA. “Our north star is getting an athlete on the podium.”
Each year at the start of the training season, typically in mid-May, the USBA names the members of its national teams. The new 2023 men’s team has incredible potential, Donatello notes. “This year’s team includes some of the strongest biathletes for their age in the world, so the 2026 Olympics will be good timing for them.”
On the women’s side, several veteran athletes have recently retired. “We’ve got a couple of elites on the 2023 team [including Deedra Irwin], and we are working hard to recruit and build the women’s team,” Gierhart says. “We have three years to go before 2026, so there is potential to find the athletes and be competitive.”
Current team member Jake Brown, who finished first in sprint at the 2019 U.S. National Championship and in the top 10 for several events at the 2018 championship, is excited about the new team’s potential. “I’m stoked. We have a number of younger guys who are already basically at my level, pushing me in training every day,” Brown says. “Someday they are going to take the torch and lead U.S. biathlon into our most successful era yet.”
Finding new athletes
Many successful biathletes start at a younger age, but a good source for new competitors are “talent-transfer” athletes, says Michael Gibson, a competitor for the Craftsbury Green Racing Project from 2013-2018 and biathlon coach at Craftsbury Outdoor Center in Craftsbury Common, Vt. “With the organization and popularity of cross-country skiing in our country, it makes a lot of sense to introduce biathlon more seriously to people who cross-country ski around college age,” Gibson says. There is a window for peak performance, but that window is quite large, and there are plenty of examples of successful biathletes competing internationally from their teenage years well into their 30s. So, if someone is a fast skier and learns to shoot in their early to mid-20s, they absolutely can still see international success.”
Offering a “try biathlon” experience at cross-country skiing events shows promise, Gierhart says. “We received a grant from the International Biathlon Federation to purchase laser rifles, and we’ve had probably 1,000 people go through the “try-it” experience in the first few months of this year. It’s a great opportunity to introduce the sport to people who are already out on skis.” According to USBA, “try-it” events can take place with laser rifles at cross-country venues without shooting ranges or with traditional biathlon .22-calibre-calibre rifles, with trained coaches and safety officers, at venues already designed for biathlon.
Currently, there are around 42 biathlon clubs in the U.S., and this smaller footprint is another challenge for the sport. “And mainly, clubs and facilities are in snowbound areas,” Gierhart says, “Although we do have a club in Texas where they ride bikes and target shoot. Training on rollerskis during summer is common, and the International Federation sanctions and hosts championships in Europe on rollerskis, so that does open up the sport to other areas and other seasons.”
Hubbard, the coach at Crosscut Mountain, says outreach to youth is pertinent to growth. “We have camps focused on introducing youth to biathlon. Kids see football, basketball, soccer all the time, so just exposing them to the fact that biathlon exists as a sport has been helpful,” Hubbard says. “At the other end of the spectrum, over the past five years, our master’s program has doubled in size. The more adults are involved, the more they are likely to share their interest with their families.”
Curiously, the sport’s huge popularity in Europe adds to the challenges in the U.S., according to team member Jake Brown. “We are an American team competing in an almost exclusively European sport, so one of our greatest challenges is always logistical,” Brown explains. “There’s tons of travel and time away from your family. It’s a challenge that we, Canada, and Asian nations all face in this sport.”
The time the team spends together, however, also builds great camaraderie, he says. “We spend five months in Europe together in the winter, plus four two-to-three-week training camps in the off-season, so we have a lot of time to joke, be serious, get angry, laugh, and grow together through it all. We try to beat each other, but we also celebrate each other’s successes.”
Making biathlon more visible
In addition to building awareness among potential competitors, increasing the public’s awareness of the sport relies on making it more visible, which is another challenge. “When the Olympics are not on, there’s just not a lot of coverage. We’ve got a great product, a world-class organization, but we need to find a partner here in the U.S. to help us promote and distribute it. If we can do that, we raise the visibility of the sport.”
Currently, the best way to watch the sport in the U.S. is on Eurovision Sports, which livestreams of all International Biathlon Union (IBU) events, plus archived videos. A link is available on the USBA website at usbiathlon.org/how-to-watch. The U.S. National Team regularly competes on the BMW IBU World Cup circuit each year, consisting of nine World Cup events, and also at the World Championships. The Junior National Team competes at Junior IBU Cups and the Youth/Junior World Championships. The United States also hosts both summer and winter National Championships each year.
A final word
Gierhart has been part of the Olympic movement for more than 20 years, previously leading three separate national governing bodies, including U.S. Sailing and USA Fencing. He says he’s a person who enjoys the challenges of building an organization. “I knew about biathlon and watched it during the Olympics, like most people. I’m an outdoors person, but I hadn’t seen it in person until I got involved with this organization.”
The variety of races in biathlon, with men’s and women’s individuals, sprints, pursuit, and mass-start races, plus relays for both mixed and single-gender competitors, offers viewers a lot of excitement. “There’s a real dichotomy to the sport. Skiers have to be strong, powerful, and confident; it’s intensely demanding. And then they have to stop and concentrate and be focused on hitting a target,” Gierhart says. “There are plenty of loops for every target missed, and that means rankings can change continuously. Someone can come from behind when everything is just clicking for them. It’s a fascinating sport to watch.”
For a small sport, it’s always about resources, Gierhart notes. “We’ve been lucky to get grants from the U.S. Olympic Committee and from the International Biathlon Federation, and we have very supportive sponsors and a generous foundation. My role is focused on meeting the challenges and making sure we’re running an excellent organization for our athletes and coaches.”
With excellent athletes, support, and increasing awareness, the sport is poised for a great future.
