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The tank biathlon is a mechanized military sport event held by the Russian military as a part of the annual International Army Games. Inspired by the winter sport of biathlon, the sport emphasizes the complex training of tank crews including their rough terrain passing skills combined with the ability to provide accurate and rapid fire while performing maneuvers. [1]
Participating tanks drive a three-lap route of 6–10 km (3.7–6.2 mi). During the first lap, crews fire at tank-size targets positioned at distances of 1,600 m (5,200 ft), 1,700 m (5,600 ft), and 1,800 m (5,900 ft) (crews aim by optics, without any modern fire-control system). In the second lap, different targets imitating an anti-tank mortar (RPG) squad and an infantry unit are fired upon. These targets are at a distance of 600–700 m (2,000–2,300 ft), and must be engaged with a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun. In the third lap, the tank crews fire at targets shaped like an anti-tank gun and ATGM unit using the turret-mounted heavy machine gun at a distance of 1,200 m (3,900 ft). One or more misses leads to an extra penalty lap 500 m (1,600 ft) long. On the final lap, tanks have to go through various terrain obstacles; an obstacle missed or improperly traversed adds 10 seconds to the crew's final timing.[ citation needed ]
The United States received an official invitation in 2013 and an unofficial invitation in 2017. [2] In 2014, 41 countries received the invitation. [3]
The first international tank biathlon competition was held at the Alabino proving ground in the Moscow Oblast on 12–17 August 2013. Four teams took part in the competition: Russia, Armenia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Colour | Place | Team | Range 1 | Range 2 | Range 3 | Total time | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H | P | H | P | H | P | ||||
Red | 1 | Russia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23:44 |
Blue | 2 | Kazakhstan | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 24:36 |
Yellow | 3 | Belarus | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 25:25 |
Green | 4 | Armenia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 29:48 |
The 1st Tank Biathlon World Championship took place at the Alabino proving ground on 4–16 August 2014. Out of 41 nations that received invitation to the tournament, 12 sent their representatives. Every competitor (except Teams China and Russia) received a T-72B tank in the biathlon color scheme. Team Russia piloted the newest modification, T-72B3, and Team China brought their own Type 96A.[ citation needed ]
Russian preliminaries for the event ran in several of military districts of Russia. Each district sent its top crews to compete for the Cup of Russia, and 3 finalists from that event formed the national Team Russia for the World Championship.[ citation needed ] Participating nations also held preliminaries on their own, sending 3 top crews and a reserve crew accompanied by maintenance and repair personnel to Russia.[ citation needed ]
Random selection placed teams under following colors:
Color | No. | Team |
---|---|---|
Red | 1 | Russia |
Red | 2 | Mongolia |
Red | 3 | Venezuela |
Blue | 4 | Kazakhstan |
Blue | 5 | Belarus |
Blue | 6 | Armenia |
Green | 7 | China |
Green | 8 | Serbia |
Green | 9 | Kyrgyzstan |
Yellow | 10 | India |
Yellow | 11 | Angola |
Yellow | 12 | Kuwait |
First legs of the tournament consisted of:
The final competition was a relay race, the top 4 teams fielded all their crews taking turns.
Total time | Team |
---|---|
75:14 | Russia |
80:03 | Armenia |
90:56 | China |
94:11 | Kazakhstan |
The second event of the series took part on 1–15 August 2015 at the same venue in Alabino. This year the Tank Biathlon was held as a headliner of the 2015 International Army Games that included similar competitions for all things military, from artillery (Masters of Fire) and air force (Aviadarts) to field kitchens.[ citation needed ] The athletic stage for the crews was removed from the schedule.[ citation needed ]
Veteran of both previous events, Team Belarus decided to participate in the Army Games "only in the disciplines where we are absolutely ready" and thus did not enter the Tank Biathlon (after finishing only 5th last year). Consequently, Belarus won 3 gold, 50 silver and 249 bronze awards and finished 3rd in the total medal score of the Army Games, being surpassed only by Russia and China.[ citation needed ] The Nicaragua and Tajikistan national teams joined the event for the first time.[ citation needed ]
All teams were piloting upgraded T-72B3 tanks, excluding Team China which continued to field its own Type 96A.
List of participants with color scheme:
Color | No. | Team |
---|---|---|
Red | 1 | Russia |
Red | 2 | Venezuela |
Red | 3 | Armenia |
Red | 4 | Kyrgyzstan |
Blue | 5 | Nicaragua |
Blue | 6 | Angola |
Blue | 7 | China |
Green | 8 | Tajikistan |
Green | 9 | Mongolia |
Green | 10 | Kazakhstan |
Yellow | 11 | India |
Yellow | 12 | Serbia |
Yellow | 13 | Kuwait |
Total time | Team |
---|---|
73:30 | Russia |
77:32 | China |
78:18 | Kazakhstan |
83:23 | Serbia |
94:12 | India |
97:06 | Kyrgyzstan |
120:04 | Tajikistan |
DSQ | Armenia |
Total time | Team |
---|---|
72:09 | Russia |
79:21 | China |
84:56 | Serbia |
86:16 | Kazakhstan |
The third Tank Biathlon took place in Alabino as part of the 2nd International Army Games from 30 July to 13 August. [4]
Colour | Place | Team |
---|---|---|
Red | 1 | Russia |
Blue | 2 | China |
Green | 3 | Kazakhstan |
Blue | 4 | Belarus |
Blue | 5 | Serbia |
Yellow | 6 | India |
Green | 7 | Azerbaijan |
Green | 8 | Mongolia |
Red | 9 | Armenia |
Red | 10 | Kyrgyzstan |
Yellow | 11 | Angola |
Yellow | 12 | Iran |
The fourth Tank Biathlon also took place in Alabino. The countries used the same type of tanks as in previous years (T-72B3 and Type-96B), with the exception of India fielding T-90 Bhishma. New Delhi Television reported that the Indian Army felt disadvantaged using T-72B3 tanks provided by Russia in 2016 and was keen to field its best tanks and best crews in 2017. However, as a result of both T-90 Bhishma tanks (the main one and the reserve one) malfunctioning, the Indian squad was unable to complete the race and were disqualified before the semifinal. [5] [6]
After seven days of contests, Team Russia won 11 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze awards and finished 1st in the overall ratings, and Team China achieved second place with 7 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze. [7]
Place | Team |
---|---|
1 | Russia |
2 | China |
3 | Kazakhstan |
4 | Belarus |
5 | Azerbaijan |
6 | Serbia |
7 | Iran |
8 | Mongolia |
9 | Venezuela |
10 | Armenia |
11 | Kyrgyzstan |
12 | India |
The competition had a slight change of rules, with two divisions (Division 1 and Division 2). Division 1 consisted of the 12 strongest participants in the 2018 edition, while Division 2 consists of all other participants.[ citation needed ] After two weeks of contests, Russia once again become the World Champion with the result of 1:33:20. In Division 2, Uzbekistan won the finals, and as they participate in the 2020 edition, they are promoted to Division 1.[ citation needed ]
Place | Team | Final round |
---|---|---|
1 | Russia | Champions |
2 | Belarus | Final |
3 | Kazakhstan | Final |
4 | Azerbaijan | Final |
5 | Mongolia | Semi-final |
6 | China | Semi-final |
7 | Venezuela | Semi-final |
8 | Serbia | Semi-final |
9 | Syria | Eliminated in individual race |
10 | Kyrgyzstan | Eliminated in individual race |
11 | Armenia | Eliminated in individual race |
12 | Iran | Eliminated in individual race |
Place | Team | Final round |
---|---|---|
1 | Uzbekistan | Champions |
2 | Vietnam | Final |
3 | Cuba | Final |
4 | Uganda | Final |
5 | Myanmar | Semi-final |
6 | Kuwait | Semi-final |
7 | Tajikistan | Semi-final |
8 | Laos | Semi-final |
9 | Angola | Eliminated in individual race |
10 | Sudan | Eliminated in individual race |
11 | Zimbabwe |
Place | Team | Final round |
---|---|---|
1 | Russia | Champions |
2 | China | Final |
3 | Belarus | Final |
4 | Azerbaijan | Final |
5 | Kazakhstan | Semi-final |
6 | Uzbekistan | Semi-final |
7 | Serbia | Semi-final |
8 | Kyrgyzstan | Semi-final |
Place | Team | Final round |
---|---|---|
1 | Vietnam | Champions |
2 | Laos | Final |
3 | Tajikistan | Final |
4 | Myanmar | Final |
5 | Congo | Semi-final |
6 | Abkhazia | |
7 | South Ossetia | |
8 | Qatar |
The 8th Tank Biathlon took place between 22 August and 4 September 2021 at the Alabino proving grounds.
Russia once again become the World Champion, followed by China, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.
The 2022 Tank Biathlon took place between 13 and 27 August 2022.
Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | Russia | Armenia | China |
2015 | Russia | China | Serbia |
2016 | Russia | China | Kazakhstan |
2017 [7] | Russia | Kazakhstan | China |
2018 [8] | Russia | China | Belarus |
2019 | Russia | Belarus | Kazakhstan |
2020 | Russia | China | Belarus |
2021 | Russia | China | Kazakhstan |
2022 | Russia | Belarus | China |
Year | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
---|---|---|---|
2019 | Uzbekistan | Vietnam | Cuba |
2020 | Vietnam | Laos | Tajikistan |
2021 | Kyrgyzstan | Tajikistan | Myanmar |
2022 | Myanmar | Syria | Tajikistan |
The table shows the teams' places in each of the world championships. For 2nd division teams, the first number is the place within the division, and the second number is the absolute place. The teams are ranked according to their average (absolute) place.
Team | Avg | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Russia | 1.00 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
China | 2.78 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ||
Kazakhstan | 3.50 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 | |
Belarus | 3.56 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 2 | ||
Azerbaijan | 5.00 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | ||||
Serbia | 7.00 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 8 | |||
India | 7.00 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 6 | ||||||
Armenia | 9.25 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 20 | |||
Mongolia | 7.63 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | |||
Kyrgyzstan | 9.44 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 1 12 | 9 | ||
Iran | 10.80 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 4 14 | ||||||
Venezuela | 10.00 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 10 | |||
Syria | 11.25 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 2 12 | |||||||
Uzbekistan | 7.00 | 1 13 | 6 | 5 | 4 | |||||||
Tajikistan | 13.00 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 7 19 | 3 11 | 2 13 | 3 13 | |||
Kuwait | 13.67 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 6 18 | |||||
Angola | 14.67 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 19 | 9 21 | |||||
Cuba | 15.00 | 3 15 | ||||||||||
Nicaragua | 15.00 | 13 | 16 | 16 | ||||||||
Vietnam | 11.40 | 17 | 2 14 | 1 9 | 9 | 8 | ||||||
Myanmar | 14.00 | 16 | 5 17 | 4 12 | 3 14 | 1 11 | ||||||
Laos | 16.17 | 17 | 18 | 8 20 | 2 10 | 5 16 | 6 16 | |||||
Uganda | 19.00 | 19 | 22 | 4 16 | ||||||||
Zimbabwe | 19.20 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 11 23 | 8 18 | ||||||
South Africa | 21.00 | 21 | ||||||||||
Sudan | 20.50 | 10 22 | 9 19 | |||||||||
Qatar | 17.00 | 8 16 | 7 18 | |||||||||
Congo | 13.00 | 5 13 | ||||||||||
Abkhazia | 16.00 | 6 14 | 6 17 | 7 17 | ||||||||
South Ossetia | 15.00 | 7 15 | 4 15 | 5 15 | ||||||||
Mali | 20.00 | 8 19 | 11 21 |
Legend:
The official videogame version of Tank Biathlon was released on 23 August 2020 [9] as a time-limited event in the War Thunder military simulation game that coincides with the real world competitions.[ citation needed ]
The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not timed per se, but depending on the competition, missed shots result in extra distance or time being added to the contestant's total.
Ole Einar Bjørndalen is a retired Norwegian professional biathlete and coach, often referred to by the nickname, the "King of Biathlon". With 13 Winter Olympic Games medals, he is second on the list of multiple medalists behind Marit Bjørgen who has won 15 medals. He is also the most successful biathlete of all time at the Biathlon World Championships, having won 45 medals. With 95 World Cup wins, Bjørndalen is ranked first all-time for career victories on the Biathlon World Cup tour. He has won the Overall World Cup title six times, in 1997–98, in 2002–03, in 2004–05, in 2005–06, in 2007–08 and in 2008–09.
The T-72 is a family of Soviet main battle tanks that entered production in 1969. The T-72 was a development based on the T-64 using thought and design of the previous Object 167M. About 25,000 T-72 tanks have been built, and refurbishment has enabled many to remain in service for decades. It has been widely exported and has seen service in 40 countries and in numerous conflicts. The Russian T-90 introduced in 1992 and the Chinese Type 99 are further developments of the T-72. Production and development of various modernized T-72 models continues today.
The Type 96 or ZTZ96 is a Chinese second generation main battle tank (MBT). The final evolution of the Type 88 design, the Type 96 entered service with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in 1997. The later variants of the Type 96 are currently in PLA service together with China's third generation MBT, the Type 99.
Ricco Groß is a former German biathlete. He is one of the most successful biathletes of all time at the Winter Olympics and the World Championships.
Olga Alekseyevna Zaitseva is a former Russian biathlete. She began her career in 1994. After not competing in the 2014–15 season, Zaitseva announced her retirement on 24 January 2015. Shortly afterwards she announced that she had been appointed as caretaker head coach of the Russian biathlon team.
The 43rd Biathlon World Championships were held in Pyeongchang, South Korea from February 13 to February 22, 2009. It was the first time that the Biathlon World Championships were held in Asia.
Björn Ferry is a former Swedish biathlete and medal winning Olympian. He began competing internationally in World Cup competitions in 2001, but did not win his first international race until the 2007–2008 season. In 2007, he won gold in the mixed relay event at the Biathlon World Championships. The next year, at his third Winter Olympics appearance, he won the gold medal in the pursuit event. He started the event in 8th place as determined by the previous sprint event, but managed to overtake the race leader on the final lap.
Darya Uladzimirauna Domracheva is a retired Belarusian biathlete and coach who competed in the Biathlon World Cup from 2006 to 2018. She won a gold medal in the 4×6 km relay and a silver medal in the mass start competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics, three gold medals in the pursuit, individual, and mass start competitions at the 2014 Winter Olympics, and a bronze medal in the individual competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics. She was a Biathlon World Cup overall winner for the 2014–15 season.
Evgeny Romanovich Ustyugov is a Russian former biathlete. Born to cross-country skiers, Ustyugov was introduced to biathlon at the age of three. He started his career in junior tournaments in 2005, before going professional three years later in the European Championships. He is an Olympic champion in the men's 15 km mass start event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Prior to the 2010 Olympic Games, his best World Championship finish in an individual event was 20th place.
Anton Vladimirovich Shipulin is a retired Russian biathlete and politician serving as the member of the State Duma since 2019.
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The 2016–17 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Women started on Sunday 11 December 2016 in Pokljuka and finished on Sunday 5 March 2017 in Pyeongchang. The defending team was Germany.
The 2017–18 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Men started on Sunday 10 December 2017 in Hochfilzen and will finish on Sunday 18 March 2018 in Oslo Holmenkollen. The defending team is Russia.
The 2017–18 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Women started on Sunday 10 December 2017 in Hochfilzen and will finish on Saturday 17 March 2018 in Oslo Holmenkollen. The defending team is Germany.
The International Army Games is an annual international military sports event organized by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Russia. The event, which was first staged in August 2015, involves close to 30 countries taking part in dozens of competitions over two weeks to prove which is the most skilled. The games have been referred to as the War Olympics. In addition to the competition, the International Army Games includes a military theme park, a recruitment station, and souvenir shops.
Alabino is a rural locality in the Moscow Oblast of Russia. With a population of over 600 people, it is part of the urban settlement of Selyatino. Until 2006, Alabino was part of the Petrovsky Rural District.
The 2020–21 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Men started on 6 December 2020 in Kontiolahti and will finished on 5 March 2021 in Nové Město
The 2020–21 Biathlon World Cup – Relay Women started on 5 December 2020 in Kontiolahti and will finish on 4 March 2021 in Nové Město