by Arthur Stegen
ISHA ULLR Award, Best Ski History 2020
James Bond fans may have been exposed to biathlon in “For Your Eyes Only,” when a fictitious biathlon champion (and agent) leaves his race to chase Bond through a series of winter sports venues. While the U.S. has played an important role in returning the sport to the Winter Olympics, most Americans are unfamiliar with biathlon.
The exciting winter sport of biathlon, which combines the dual physical skills of cross-country skiing with marksmanship, is a fast-paced sport that enjoys great popularity in Europe. These skills may seem an unlikely combination; but in fact, the biathlon combination of physical skills and accuracy has a realistic basis in history. Hunting on skis, the utilitarian forerunner of biathlon, required the same coupling of effort and concentration as the exciting Winter Olympic sport of today. Although it can be traced to prehistoric Scandinavia, its role in military planning and strategies by early Scandinavian military ski troops can be said to be the true origins of this exciting modern-day sport.
This book explains what biathlon is, what it takes and how it’s done, as well as the people and organizations involved in the history and development of the sport in the U.S. Photographs, glossary, references, index, and a listing of U.S. champions and international participation of American athletes in the Biathlon World Championship and Winter Olympic Games, are included.
About the Author
Art Stegen has been at the epicenter of biathlon for fifty years. As an athlete, coach, team leader, member of the board of directors and editor of the US Biathlon newsletter, he has dedicated himself to the sport and always strived to make a difference. Art demonstrated athletic prowess early in his career as a runner, then as a cross‐country skier and, later, in biathlon, spending his service time with the Modern Winter Biathlon Training Center at Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Art’s career is a remarkable set of accomplishments. They include being certified in Norway as a cross-country skiing and biathlon coach, an original member establishing the independent U.S. Biathlon Association, UIMPB honors for writing the first book in the English language about biathlon, the Meritorious Service Medal for writing the military’s biathlon training manuals, authoring U.S. biathlon’s coaching education programs, and drafting U.S. biathlon’s modern bylaws.
Now fully retired, Art continues to serve on the board of directors and enjoys teaching his grandchildren the joys of skiing, running, and hiking on the ski trails where he developed his passion years earlier.
Product Details
Hardcover, no dust jacket, 378 pages, 75 illustrations, Extensive Appendix, Bibliography, Index.
Retail: $29.95 ISBN: 978-0-578-49033-5
Published by: Arthur Stegen
Available from US Biathlon Association, phone: 1-800-242-8456
Also available from Amazon
Services Provided
Proofreading, Self-publishing assistance, book design and layout