Biathalon.

This is coolbert:

Am watching the Winter Olympics yesterday as I eat lunch at the local Chili's restaurant.

And how so very apropos, the event being covered is the ONE and ONLY event in the winter games that has a military dimension to it, the biathalon.

A strange sport, a combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. As you might expect, a "sport" having a Nordic origin, originally called "military patrol"!

Contestants ski a cross-country course, stopping to shoot four times along the way, a timed race a penalty being exacted for MISSING A TARGET DURING THE SHOOTING PHASE OF THE COMPETITION!!

"biathlon usually refers specifically to the winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting."

"The sport has its origins in an exercise for Norwegian soldiers, as an alternative training for the military . . . in 1960 the sport was finally included in the Olympic Games"

You ski, you shoot, you ski, you shoot, you race, you win!

Competitors originally carried and fired a military caliber rifle, 7.62 mm NATO or equivalent. IN RECENT YEARS THE SPORT HAS BECOME "SISSIFIED", THE RIFLE OF CHOICE NOW BEING A SMALL BORE .22 CALIBER RATHER THAN A MORE PROPER BIG-BORE WEAPON! "SISSIFIED"!!

It can be argued, however [??] that the biathalon is THE MOST GRUELING EVENT OF THE WINTER OLYMPICS??!! Most grueling from the standpoint that:

"A study conducted at the 2002 Olympics found that biathlon is the No. 1 sweat-producing event at the Winter Games."

"male athletes produce 2.3 litres (five pounds) of sweat during the 20-km race"

A race, won in this particular case by a Russian. I CAN ALMOST BET YOU THAT THIS RUSSIAN YEVGENIY IS A SPETSNAZ TROOPER!! Keep an eye on that guy.

coolbert.