1969- Canadian biathlete Although men have competed in the biathlon at the Olympics for many years, women did not compete until the early 1990s. Canadian Myriam Bedard won some of the first Olympic medals given in the biathlon, which is a combination of cross-country skiing and marksmanship with a .22-calibre rifle that is measured by time and accuracy. (Missed targets add time to the score or len…
1974- Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen listened to a vacuum cleaner salesman, then cleaned up at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Bjoerndalen, from Norway, won four gold medals in the biathlon, an event that combines cross-country skiing with target shooting. Amid an Olympiad that featured the stunning success of American figure skater Sarah Hughes, an enthralling gold-med…