- In general, the analyzes over time clearly show that the skiers who reach podium places in the various competitions are the ones who shoot clearly best in all shootings in both forms of competition.

It is also interesting that we can not see any differences between the sexes, says Marko Laaksonen, associate professor at the National Winter Sports Center at Mid Sweden University in Östersund in a press release.

According to the researchers, it is clear that those who end up on the podium usually have a maximum of one barrier, while those who are in the top ten have two barriers.

The shooting performance decides

- Even if skiing is important for a good location, it is still the shooting performance that determines the end results, says Glenn Björklund, center manager at the National Winter Sports Center.

The study also states that the time on the shooting range is of "fairly small" importance.

- The only time that it affects the placement in general is at the last firing moment, says Glenn Björklund.

The researchers' study is published in the Journal of Sports Sciences.

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That's why biathletes have blinders Photo: SVT