Half of all biathlon research was published here last year

Last year, a total of 17 articles were published in international journals – of which 10 were from researchers at Mid Sweden University.

"Last year was exceptionally productive for us, but even if we look over a longer period, we are the university in the world that publishes the most articles. In the last four years, we account for a quarter of all research published on biathlon. There are strong research environments in other parts of Scandinavia and Europe as well, but as far as I know, no other university has such a pure interest in biathlon research right now, says Marko Laaksonen, professor of sports science at the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre, Mid Sweden University.

Over the past four years, 75 scientific articles have been published in international journals about studies conducted with biathletes or about biathlon, and 19 of these originate from Mid Sweden University.

2020: 17 articles, including 2 articles from the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre

2021: 24 articles, including 4 articles from the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre

2022: 17 articles, including 3 articles from the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre

2023: 17 articles, including 10 articles from the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre

The figures have been produced by Professor Marko Laaksonen and the statistics do not include articles about, for example, measuring the friction of the ski against the snow or other similar studies, but relate specifically to research aimed at the sport of biathlon. Right now, Mid Sweden University has three doctoral students employed who are researching biathlon, but a number of other researchers at the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre are also carrying out projects related to the area. In a large part of the research, Mid Sweden University collaborates with the Swedish Biathlon Union, and some of the projects also take place in collaboration with municipalities in the region.

"One of our goals is to create more understanding and develop knowledge that not only benefits biathlon in Sweden but also contributes to the development of the sport on an international level. In addition to Mid Sweden University, the University of Jyväskylä in Finland and the NIH and NTNU in Norway have published scientific articles last year, says Glenn Björklund, Director at the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre.

What were Mid Sweden University's scientific articles about in 2023? 

"Last year, we had a broad outlook. We published two articles on pacing in biathlon and para-biathlon. We published an article on how different physiological factors that we test in our lab can be linked to performance in biathlon. Since then, we have continued to investigate how the carrying of rifles affects biathletes' skiing and also published an article about training in junior biathletes. The other publications have been about neurofeedback training regarding shooting, testing of physiological factors in the field and also about how equipment that heats the inhaled air in the cold can affect the health of biathletes, says Marko Laaksonen.

In 2024, the focus will be on research on monitoring, development and optimization of biathlon training, as well as further studies on performance analysis and investigations on the carrying of rifles during the skiing part.

Contact person:

Marko Laaksonen, Professor of Sports Science at the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre, Mid Sweden University, 010-142 83 84, marko.laaksonen@miun.se

Facts:

In 2023, Mid Sweden University and the International Biathlon Union, IBU, signed a cooperation agreement for research and education. The agreement was the first of its kind in which the IBU develops partnerships with international universities to support the education and research work of the IBU Academy.