I just watched the DVR’ed version of the Women’s 10km Pursuit in biathlon– OUTSTANDING COMPETITION, and a brilliant win by Fraulein Neuner of Germany, who despite two misses prevailed over her very able competition. If you didn’t see it, you missed a great event. A couple of items stood out for me:
- Beautiful form on skis (no pun intended); they go faster uphill than I go downhill.
- Very smooth gunhandling on the range, no fumbling with harnesses and whatnot. (Although I saw a few egregious violations of muzzle awareness.)
- Earrings were the rule rather than the exception; nice touch, girls!
- The timeless law of shooting, as articulated by one of my Gunsite instructors: “No matter what the situation– combat, competition, self-defense or hunting– the shooting problem remains the same.” Yes, it’s a highly stylized form of shooting, mostly devoid of its practical roots, yet one round missed can mean a medal missed. The entire race can turn on one shot. Fundamentals count, concentration counts, mastery of self reigns supreme.
Congrats to all!
