While figure skating, freestyle skiing, snowboarding and ice hockey tend to steal the spotlight at the Winter Olympics, my favorite event is one that usually flies under the radar: the biathlon.
This event combines two sports that have seemingly nothing in common. One part of the event involves cross-country skiing, and the second part is shooting a rifle.
As a cross-country runner and a skier, cross-country skiing is right up my alley. I love watching the cross-country skiing events, but the biathlon adds another component to the race, therefore adding even more tension and suspense.
There are a few types of biathlons. Individual is the most basic, as it is simply athletes competing against the clock. The racers are staggered by 30 seconds and race against the clock, gaining time for any missed rifle shots.
Sprint is similar to individual, just shorter and with less shooting. Pursuit usually follows the sprint, as competitors start based on their time in a previous race. There is also mass start, in which, as the name implies, all the athletes begin at the same time. There are also relays consisting of same-gendered teams and mixed relays.
The sport is so exciting to watch despite the length, as some races are as long as 20 kilometers, because of the constant nature. Since, in most of the event, racers begin 30 seconds apart, there is always action and athletes skiing while others are at the shooting range. A missed target while shooting results in a penalty lap, adding on to the time and making the whole thing even more exciting. It’s not clear who won until everyone finishes.
Korean unification
In a shocking turn of events, North Korean and South Korean athletes will compete on a unified team during the 2018 Olympics.
The games are being held in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Although people in North Korea are typically not allowed to leave the country, 12 women, along with 10 other athletes, will be permitted to cross the demilitarized zone and compete in South Korea. The 12 women will join 23 South Korean women on an ice hockey team, competing as simply “Korea.” The remaining 10 athletes will compete for North Korea.
In addition, during the opening ceremony, the two nations will march in together under a Korean Unification Flag.
While the vexillologist in me thinks this is awesome because it is a cool flag, the political ramifications from this unification are vast. This women’s ice hockey team may be a start to cooling the tensions between the Koreas and could also help cool the tensions between North Korea and the United States.
If anything, the Korean women’s ice hockey team will be a cool team to watch during this year’s Winter Olympics.
Becoming an Olympian in four months
Athletes train their entire lives to get a chance to compete for their country at the Olympics. For one particular member of the United States team, that training was only four months.
You read that right. Erin Jackson is competing for the USA in long-track speed skating after joining the sport only four months ago.
While that crazy fact might be a bit misleading, since Jackson is an accomplished in-line skater, she did not just hop into speed skating and make the team. However, that does not take away from the amazing feat of picking up the sport and becoming an Olympian.
Since in-line skating is not an Olympic event, Jackson realized if she wanted to compete at an Olympic games as a member of Team USA, she would have to learn speed skating, and she set her eyes on 2022 in Beijing.
Instead, the skater surprised herself with her attitude of not wanting to be the worst skater, and therefore pushing herself to learn and become better helped her to qualify as the first African American member of the women’s long-track speed skating team.
Jackson will compete in the women’s 500 meters, which takes place on Feb. 18.
Photo courtesy of www.nbcolympics.com
