Ski shoot

I'm watching the women's biathlon, which in my book contends with curling for the two most peculiar—and opposite—Olympic sports. Curling is silly, but sweet, with teams of people trying desperately to make a "stone" slide farther than their opponents' stones by sweeping the ice in its path. Biathlon, on the other hand, looks to be lifted straight from a 007 vs. Blofeld novel; i.e., cross-country skiing interrupted at intervals by the skier stoppng, unhooking what appears to be a lethally high-powered rifle from her back, firing at a target, then restrapping the rifle and continuing along the course.

There must be some historical reason to justify including both of these, um, sports in the winter Olympics. I feel a Google search coming on . . .

OK, the Norwegians take credit (or blame) for this shoot-n'-ski thing. According to Wikipedia, the sport has its origins in an exercise for Norwegian soldiers, as an alternative training for the military. (Wikipedia doesn't reveal whether this jolly event was ever used in actual combat.) Due to some squabbling over the rules amongst its proponents, biathlon didn't become an official Olympic sport until 1960, and women—those lucky devils!—at last were allowed to compete in 1992.