With the 2010 Games underway in Vancouver, we figured our readers might enjoy a primer on the only shooting sport of the Winter Olympics. That’s why in January of last year we sent photographer and Fly Talk blogger Tim Romano to capture an inside look at the Colorado state championship Biathlon finals, and use it to write up an overview. Here’s what he found.

Biathlon, which combines Nordic skiing and rifle shooting, has it roots, not surprisingly, in Scandinavia and Finland. These date to Neolithic times — there are rock paintings in Norway that show hunters sliding along the snow on wooden timbers, carrying bows and arrows. By the 1500s, skiing had become an important skill for soldiers in Scandinavia and Russia, and by the 19th century, Germany, Austria and Switzerland also had soldiers patrolling their borders with skis on their feet and guns on their backs.