Biathlon includes cross-country skiing and shooting an air rifle at a target in a prone and standing position. The best biathletes are able to combine speed on skis with pinpoint shooting accuracy.

Events: There are ten events on the 2010 Olympic program, five each for men and women.

Men: 20km Individual, 10km Sprint, 12.5km Pursuit, 15km Mass Start, 4x7.5km Relay

Women: 15km Individual, 7.5km Sprint, 10km Pursuit, 12.5km Mass Start, 4x6km Relay

Inside this sport: Competition Format | Equipment

Venue: All of the events will be contested at Whistler Olympic Park, the same venue used for cross-country skiing, ski jumping and Nordic combined. The biathlon stadium's shooting range consists of 30 lanes with an electronic target system that identifies each hit/missed target.

'Biathlon King' still reigns supreme
Biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen of Norway could become the most decorated winter athlete of all time at the 2010 Olympic Games. He spoke with NBCOlympics.com about his motivation to continue competing, his new wife and discussing shooting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Read more.

Torino recap (men)
Whereas the 2002 Olympic biathlon competition turned into a one-man show, courtesy of Bjoerndalen, the 2006 competition saw the pack catch up to the "Biathlon King" and overtake him. Bjoerndalen came away with three medals (two silver, one bronze), to add to his career total of nine, but it was the German men who had the best success at Cesana-San Sicario. Michael Greis led the way with two individual gold medals and a third as a member of the winning relay team.

Torino recap (women)
Russia's Albina Akhatova and Germany's Kati Wilhelm and Martina Glagow (Beck) each won three medals in this evenly matched competition. German biathlete Uschi Disl punctuated her illustrious career by winning a record-ninth career Olympic medal (tied for most among biathletes, with Bjoerndalen), a bronze in the mass start. Unfortunately, the competition was marred by the disqualification, revocation of the silver medal in the individual event and consequent two-year suspension of Russia's Olga Pyleva (Medvedtseva), after she tested positive for the stimulant caphedron.

Who to watch in 2010
Shut out of medal contention since the advent of the Olympic biathlon in 1960, the United States remains in the second tier among biathlon nations. A few Americans, notably three-time Olympian Jay Hakkinen and Tim Burke, have proven themselves capable on the World Cup circuit, however, and could surprise.

A major doping scandal on the eve of the 2009 World Championships could alter the biathlon landscape substantially. Three members of the Russian team, one the sport's strongest, could face two-year suspensions that would eliminate them from contention in Vancouver and strengthen the medal chances of other top-tier biathlon nations, in particular Norway on the men's side and Germany on the women's. The Norwegian lineup will include Olympic veterans Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Halvard Hanevold, as well as rising star Emil Hegle Svendsen. The Germans will look to the established Kati Wilhelm and Andrea Henkel and phenom Madgalena Neuner to take Whistler by storm.