Performance‐determining factors in biathlon prone shooting without physical stress

Abstract

This study investigated the most important factors determining biathlon prone shooting performance. 10 female and 16 male biathletes (age 19.9 ± 2.9 years) from the national teams of Finland and Vuokatti-Ruka Sports Academy performed 6x5 biathlon prone shooting shots without physical stress under laboratory conditions. Shooting performance and multiple aiming point trajectory variables were measured together with an analysis of triggering force. Based on the aiming point trajectory data principal component analysis, we identified four technical components in biathlon prone shooting: stability of hold, aiming accuracy, cleanness of triggering and timing of triggering. Multiple regression analysis further determined that cleanness of triggering, aiming accuracy and timing of triggering accounted for 80% of mean shooting performance (p < 0.001). Better stability of hold, aiming accuracy and cleanness of triggering were directly associated with better shooting performance (0.62 ≤ |r| ≥ 0.79, all p < 0.001). Better stability of hold measures were also associated with better cleanness of triggering, and higher pre-shot trigger force levels were associated with better stability of hold and cleanness of triggering. These results indicate that with both direct and indirect effects on performance, stability of hold seems to be a general prerequisite for successful biathlon shooting. The results also highlight the importance of aiming accuracy, cleanness and timing of triggering, along with a high pre-shot trigger force level. The variables identified in this study could be used to assess biathletes’ performance in the most relevant shooting technical aspects to guide the emphasis of their shooting training.

Full text

Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2021;00:1–10.
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wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/sms
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INTRODUCTION
Biathlon is an Olympic winter sport combining cross-
country skiing and rifle shooting, where overall per-
formance is determined by skiing speed, shooting
performance, and shooting time. A biathlon competition
consists of periods of high intensity skiing separated by
short recovery intervals (two or four times during the
competition depending on the competition type) during
which shooting is performed in the prone or standing
position.1 Shooting is performed with small- bore rifles,
with targets 50m away from the shooting lane where the
Received: 3 May 2021
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Revised: 28 September 2021
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Accepted: 23 October 2021
DOI: 10.1111/sms.14087
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Performance- determining factors in biathlon prone
shooting without physical stress
MiikaKöykkä1,2
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Marko S.Laaksonen3
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SimoIhalainen2
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KeijoRuotsalainen1
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VesaLinnamo1
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
1Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences,
University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä,
Finland
2KIHU – Research Institute for Olympic
Sports, Jyväskylä, Finland
3Department of Health Sciences,
Swedish Winter Sports Research
Centre, Mid Sweden University,
Östersund, Sweden
Correspondence
Miika Köykkä, Faculty of Sport
and Health Sciences, University of
Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Email: miika.i.koykka@jyu.fi
Funding information
This research received no specific grant
from any funding agency
This study investigated the most important factors determining biathlon prone
shooting performance. Ten female and 16male biathletes (age 19.9±2.9years)
from the national teams of Finland and Vuokatti- Ruka Sports Academy performed
6×5 biathlon prone shooting shots without physical stress under laboratory con-
ditions. Shooting performance and multiple aiming point trajectory variables
were measured together with an analysis of triggering force. Based on the aiming
point trajectory data principal component analysis, we identified four technical
components in biathlon prone shooting: stability of hold, aiming accuracy, clean-
ness of triggering, and timing of triggering. Multiple regression analysis (MRA)
further determined that cleanness of triggering, aiming accuracy, and timing of
triggering accounted for 80% of mean shooting performance (p<0.001). Better
stability of hold, aiming accuracy and cleanness of triggering were directly as-
sociated with better shooting performance (0.62≤|r| ≥0.79, all p<0.001). Better
stability of hold measures were also associated with better cleanness of triggering,
and higher pre- shot trigger force levels were associated with better stability of
hold and cleanness of triggering. These results indicate that with both direct and
indirect effects on performance, stability of hold seems to be a general prerequi-
site for successful biathlon shooting. The results also highlight the importance of
aiming accuracy, cleanness and timing of triggering, along with a high pre- shot
trigger force level. The variables identified in this study could be used to assess
biathletes’ performance in the most relevant shooting technical aspects to guide
the emphasis of their shooting training.
KEYWORDS
biathlon, biomechanics, coaching, optoelectronics, precision, rifle shooting, technique