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Quiz about Shooting Stars and Slippery Slopes
Quiz about Shooting Stars and Slippery Slopes

Shooting Stars and Slippery Slopes Quiz


Biathlon combines cross-country skiing with shooting. This quiz lets you discover different aspects of this exciting winter sport. Enjoy!

A multiple-choice quiz by Leau. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
Leau
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
176,288
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
346
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
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Question 1 of 10
1. Rock paintings of hunters moving on sliding pieces of wood, while carrying bows and arrows, give reason to believe that biathlon is already 4,000 years old. Competitive biathlon however, is much younger. It has its origins in the Norwegian Army, where it was an exercise for the border patrol units.


Question 2 of 10
2. Which kind of weapon is used in biathlon? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. In every biathlon contest, the athletes have to shoot both standing and lying down. Do the targets for prone shooting and standing shooting have the same size?


Question 4 of 10
4. During which kind of biathlon competition would you never find yourself in a penalty lap? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Which Norwegian biathlete won an amazing total of four gold medals at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. What is the name of the governing body for biathlon? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. In 1998, the ORA Trophy was brought into existence. This trophy is in fact, a ranking within the World Cup season, awarded to the biathlete that gathers the most points at three different World Cups. Which of the following venues was not one of them? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. In the 1960s, balloons were used as targets for shooting.


Question 9 of 10
9. After which of the following events does a biathlete have to withdraw from a mass start competition immediately? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. The word 'biathlon' has Greek roots. It's a combination of 'Bia', which is the name of the personification of power and force in Greek mythology, and 'thlon', which means 'match'.



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Rock paintings of hunters moving on sliding pieces of wood, while carrying bows and arrows, give reason to believe that biathlon is already 4,000 years old. Competitive biathlon however, is much younger. It has its origins in the Norwegian Army, where it was an exercise for the border patrol units.

Answer: True

The first recorded biathlon competition took place in 1767 between guard companies at the Norwegian-Swedish border. At the first Olympic Winter Games in 1924 in Chamonix, biathlon, at the time called "military patrol", was introduced as a demonstration event. It wasn't until the 1950s that biathlon was accepted by the IOC as an official Olympic sport.
2. Which kind of weapon is used in biathlon?

Answer: A rifle

The rifle, carried on the athlete's back, should be a .22 caliber and have a minimum weight of 3.5 kg. According to the official IBU rules, "the rifles may not be of automatic or semi-automatic design. Loading or unloading may be executed only by the competitor's muscle force."
3. In every biathlon contest, the athletes have to shoot both standing and lying down. Do the targets for prone shooting and standing shooting have the same size?

Answer: No

Because of the less stable shooting position, the targets used for standing shooting are more than twice the size of the targets for prone shooting. The prone targets are 45 mm in diameter, whereas the diameter of the standing targets is 115 mm. The shooting distance is 50 meters for both prone and standing shooting.
4. During which kind of biathlon competition would you never find yourself in a penalty lap?

Answer: Individual (20 km/15 km)

Typically, a biathlete has to complete an extra lap of 150 meters for each missed target. In the individual competition however, which is 20 km for men and 15 km for women, each missed target adds a 1 minute penalty to the biathlete's total time.
5. Which Norwegian biathlete won an amazing total of four gold medals at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City?

Answer: Ole Einar Bjørndalen

After "just" one Gold and one Silver medal in Nagano, Bjørndalen won a Gold medal in every biathlon race held at the 2002 Olympics. He was the first biathlete ever to accomplish this. The Olympic program for biathlon consists of the individual competition, the sprint, the pursuit, and the relay.
Frode Andresen was in the Norwegian relay team together with Bjørndalen, while Ricco Gross won a silver medal with the German team. Johan Olav Koss was a famous Norwegian speed skater.
6. What is the name of the governing body for biathlon?

Answer: International Biathlon Union (IBU)

The UIPMB was founded in 1948, standardising the rules for both pentathlon and biathlon. The International Biathlon Union was founded as a tree of the UIPMB in July 1993, and they separated formally in 1998.
7. In 1998, the ORA Trophy was brought into existence. This trophy is in fact, a ranking within the World Cup season, awarded to the biathlete that gathers the most points at three different World Cups. Which of the following venues was not one of them?

Answer: Hochfilzen

As you may have guessed, ORA stands for Oberhof, Ruhpolding, and Antholz. Antholz is in Italy, Oberhof and Ruhpolding are both German biathlon venues. Hochfilzen is in Austria, and although it does host biathlon World Cups, it's not part of the ORA Trophy.
8. In the 1960s, balloons were used as targets for shooting.

Answer: True

Before each competition, the athletes had to inflate the balloons themselves. Paper and breakable glass were commonly used as targets as well, until the introduction of mechanical falling plates at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid. Later, most World Cup venues used electronic targets.
9. After which of the following events does a biathlete have to withdraw from a mass start competition immediately?

Answer: He was lapped.

A broken ski can be exchanged without penalty, as long as at least one ski makes it from start to finish. Cross-firing on to a target in another shooting lane is no reason for withdrawal either. Hit targets on another lane does not count as hits however.
10. The word 'biathlon' has Greek roots. It's a combination of 'Bia', which is the name of the personification of power and force in Greek mythology, and 'thlon', which means 'match'.

Answer: False

'Biathlon' comes from the Greek words 'bi' and 'ahtlos', meaning 'two' and 'contest' respectively. Bia is the Greek personification of power and force, but she doesn't have anything to do with biathlon.
Source: Author Leau

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nightmare before going online.
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