Biathlon shooting performance after exercise of different intensities.

Biathletes commonly reduce their skiing intensity as they approach the firing line. However, it is not clear how the intensity of the previous exercise affects their shooting results. The purpose of this investigation was to assess shooting performance among elite American biathletes immediately after exercise of various intensities. Shooting performance was assessed from measures of shooting accuracy, shooting precision, and stability of hold. It was found that exercise intensity had minimal effect on shooting accuracy and precision for prone shooting, but did affect these measures for shooting in the standing position. In addition, stability of hold was affected more by exercise intensity for shooting in the standing position compared with prone shooting. If these results can be transferred to competitive biathlon, it is suggested that the intensity of exertion immediately prior to biathlon shooting has minimal influence on prone shooting performance, but does affect shooting in the standing position by altering the stability of the hold.