When Norway's Johan-Olav Botn crossed the line to win Olympic gold in the men's 20km individual race on Tuesday, he did so with an emotional cry of "Sivert, we did it!" in honour of Sivert Guttorm Bakken,

Biathlon combines two sports – cross-country skiing and shooting – into one race. The biathlon first made its debut 66 years ago in the 1960 Winter Olympics at the renamed Palisades Tahoe in Olympic Valley near Lake Tahoe. This year, the Winter Olympic biathlon games will be held in Antholz (Anterselva), Italy.

France's Julia Simon won the women's 15km individual biathlon race at the Winter Games on Wednesday, making up for a single miss on the shooting range with a powerful skiing performance on the track to add individual gold to a mixed relay victory.

Julia Simon became the first Frenchwoman to win an Olympic gold medal in the women's 15-kilometer individual biathlon race as teammate Lou Jeanmonnot took silver.

Olympic biathletes shoot at targets using .22-caliber rifles while racing on cross-country skis. Here’s a closer look at the combined sporting event. (Photo: AP)

By Philip O'Connor ANTERSELVA, ITALY, Feb 12 (Reuters) - With bulky equipment and clothing to carry, travelling is always tough for snow-sport competitors, but spare a thought for the biathletes, who have to transport their rifles across borders on an almost weekly basis on the World Cup circuit.