Biathlon IBU World Cup 2021 - 2022

[Triplecast 169]

1 hour ago, Monzanator said:

Individual is my favorite event since shooting actually matters here. However I won't be surprised if it gets canned in the next 15 years due to TV demands. Thankfully USA isn't that strong in this sport or else that would have happened already IMO.

 

1 hour ago, NearPup said:

Which would be really stupid because it's actually way more exciting to watch than the sprint.

 

The thing that makes me optimistic about the Individual's long term future is that it requires no additional venues or athletes and biathlon is a high performing sport in terms of TV ratings.

Funny, The USA TV biathlon commentator frequently says the individual is kept around because it's the oldest event, going back to the origins of the sport.  During yesterday's race, he and his commentating partner were describing the layout of the first Olympic biathlon course in 1960.  It was one loop only, 4 shooting stops along the way with differing distances and greater penalty minutes for a bad miss.

 

Agree, it's not like it needs an extra venue or anything, and they need events anyway to keep the Winter Games calendar full.  Plus we don't always get to dictate the Olympic TV program.

[NearPup 3,558]

1 minute ago, Triplecast said:

 

Funny, The USA TV biathlon commentator frequently says the individual is kept around because it's the oldest event, going back to the origins of the sport.  During yesterday's race, he and his commentating partner were describing the layout of the first Olympic biathlon course in 1960.  It was one loop only, 4 shooting stops along the way with differing distances and greater penalty minutes for a bad miss.

 

Agree, it's not like it needs an extra venue or anything, and they need events anyway to keep the Winter Games calendar full.  Plus we don't always get to dictate the Olympic TV program.

I think it’s really kept around at the world cup level because the IBU doesn’t want to give up a set of Olympic medals :P

[Triplecast 169]

5 minutes ago, NearPup said:

I think it’s really kept around at the world cup level because the IBU doesn’t want to give up a set of Olympic medals :P

Agree too.  But if it goes, It would seem as though IBU would replace it with something else (super sprint, shortened individual?), not just willingly give up 2 sets of Olympic medals. 

[NearPup 3,558]

Just now, Triplecast said:

Agree too.  But if it goes, It would seem as though IBU would replace it with something else (super sprint, shortened individual?), not just willingly give up 2 sets of Olympic medals. 

Please don't speak those awful ideas out loud, Bach might hear them.

[Monzanator 4,797]

2 hours ago, Triplecast said:

 

Funny, The USA TV biathlon commentator frequently says the individual is kept around because it's the oldest event, going back to the origins of the sport.  During yesterday's race, he and his commentating partner were describing the layout of the first Olympic biathlon course in 1960.  It was one loop only, 4 shooting stops along the way with differing distances and greater penalty minutes for a bad miss.

 

Agree, it's not like it needs an extra venue or anything, and they need events anyway to keep the Winter Games calendar full.  Plus we don't always get to dictate the Olympic TV program.

 

The freestyle skiing expansion indicates otherwise. But that's not a bad thing, USA seems to be focused on that so you might leave biathlon alone. Historically this is one sport where USA never had much success which is a blessing in disguise.

[Triplecast 169]

3 hours ago, Monzanator said:

 

The freestyle skiing expansion indicates otherwise. But that's not a bad thing, USA seems to be focused on that so you might leave biathlon alone. Historically this is one sport where USA never had much success which is a blessing in disguise.

I don’t think there is any worry that USA will have any biathlon  breakthrough.  Until ski mountaineering debuts next time, it will stay the only  Winter Games sport where US has never medaled.

 

The thing though is in the last Olympic cycle, tv coverage of biathlon in the US has increased maybe 100 fold and Its unfortunate that we are back to just streaming coverage.
 

 

 

[Grassmarket 4,081]

Abolishing the individual would gradually ruin the whole sport because the people who would prosper most would be the modern equivalent of Lars Berger or Miriam Gossner who skied fast, blasted away fast and were happy if they hit 3/5.

[Monzanator 4,797]

Men's MS is underway. Smolski lost a ski, Strolia kindly picked it up.

[Monzanator 4,797]

Doll has 7 seconds on JTB after the last shoot.

[hckošice 15,598]

JTB did not give two shits in the last lap, never saw the guy doing this "recreational-jogging" in a race lap in my life, and Doll in other hand was skiing like no tomorrow