Rifle and aiming point accelerations do not differ between the most and least accurate shots in biathlon shooting within an athlete

Study aim: As studies from shooting disciplines other than biathlon have observed associations between weapon accelerations and shooting performance, this study investigated whether accelerations of the rifle stock and aiming point (the point on the target where the rifle is aimed at) are associated with shooting performance, and differences in rifle and aiming point accelerations between the most and least accurate shots. Further, associations between rifle and aiming point accelerations were studied.

Materials and methods: Shooting performance (Hit_Dist, hit point distance from the center of the target) along with rifle and aiming point accelerations were measured from nine biathletes who performed 6×5 biathlon prone and standing shots.

Results: In the prone posture, rifle or aiming point accelerations were neither associated with shooting performance nor with each other. In the standing posture, vertical rifle accelerations right before triggering were negatively associated with Hit_Dist (r = –0.70, p < 0.05), whereas aiming point accelerations were not associated with Hit_Dist. Horizontal rifle accelerations were positively associated with aiming point accelerations in standing (r = 0.74, p = 0.024), whereas vertical or resultant rifle accelerations did not demonstrate associations with aiming point accelerations. In both postures, rifle accelerations were of the same magnitude in the most and least accurate shots.

Conclusion: Rifle and aiming point accelerations provide limited description of the technical level in biathlon shooting. Moreover, rifle accelerations alone do not appear to provide sufficient information to deduce the aiming point movements. Angular movement would likely be required for aiming point movement estimation.