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As these skiers in the Italian Alps could attest, cross-country skiing requires more strength and endurance than going downhill, which is a big reason that downhill skiing is the more popular recreational sport.

The modern sport of biathlon developed from old military training exercises where soldiers would ski downhill at top speed and fire at stationary targets from their moving skis. In the modern event, the competition takes place on a flatter cross-country circuit, and skiers have to stop at predetermined intervals to fire rifles they carry on their backs at five targets. For every shot they miss, they must ski a penalty loop, adding distance to their race. The difficulty for the athletes comes in controlling the heaviness of their breathing after a taxing interval on the skis well enough to make an accurate shot. Sidebar

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