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Shooting within the sport of biathlon is very visually demanding, the eyes and brain must co-ordinate in a short space of time to produce accurate alignment to a target and successful shots. However, very little is known about which aspects of the visual system are important for shooting success in Biathlon. The purpose of this study is to understand which visual capabilities are considered important for successful shooting, and then to test these visual capabilities and identify if any of them are correlated with more successful aiming and/or shooting success.

The first stage of the study involved the design and distribution of a questionnaire aimed at understanding which visual capabilities biathletes and biathlon coaches consider to be important for shooting success. This was carried out and the results have been used to develop eight visual tests – each designed to measure one of the visual capabilities identified as being important. These tests are currently being run at Vuokatti.

According to the Visual Coach, Dr Zoe Wimshurst from AECC University College the testing in Vuokatti is going very well. All athletes have been really engaged in the testing and worked hard, despite some tests being mentally demanding. “I have seen a wide range of results on the different tests so there is some good data for analysis and we should gain some really useful insight into performance. I am hopeful our results can really make a difference to biathlon performance”, Wimshurst tells.

Miika Köykkä, a Specialist in Sport Biomechanics from KIHU, Keijo Ruotsalainen, a coordinator from JYU-Vuokatti and Riina Kankaanperä, a student working on her thesis are running the aiming and shooting tests in JYU-Vuokatti laboratories. The tests measured the main factors that affect prone shooting - accuracy of aiming, hold and cleaniness of the triggering.

Once this data collection is complete, results of each vision test will be compared to aiming and shooting tests also being run. This will give insight into which aspects of vision really are related to shooting performance.

“Athletes receive feedback on their performance in tests. The results are analysed and reported to IBU, and then made publicly available. They will also be used in IBU Coach Education”, Miika Köykkä says.

It is anticipated that the results of this study will help provide a framework for training any visual skills found to be linked with shooting performance to enable biathletes to enhance their performance.

The IBU Research Grant Programme is designed to support established researchers in exploring diverse aspects of biathlon, contributing to its growth and development. The Grant has been crafted to encourage and facilitate research dedicated to advancing the understanding and development of biathlon. Intended for established research institutions and individuals working in all kinds of scientific fields, research outcomes are meant to support growth and development around the IBU family. The results of the research shall be shared with all IBU member associations.