A biopsychosocial framework to guide interdisciplinary research on biathlon performance

Abstract

Biathlon is a unique combination of two challenging and remarkably different tasks: cross-country skiing in free technique and rifle shooting in either prone or standing position. Over the past few decades, a growing body of biathlon-specific research considerably improved our understanding of the factors determining biathlon performance (for a review, see Laaksonen et al., 2018). This includes biological aspects of biathlon performance, comprising physiological parameters (e.g., Rundell and Bacharach, 1995; Stoeggl et al., 2015; Laaksonen et al., 2020) as well as biomechanical and motor control factors such as postural control, rifle stability, shoulder force, and triggering or aiming strategies (e.g., Groslambert et al., 1999; Baca and Kornfeind, 2012; Sattlecker et al., 2014; Köykkä et al., 2020). In addition, another branch of research focuses on psychological factors that influence performance, including the role of attentional processes (e.g., Gallicchio et al., 2016; Luchsinger et al., 2016; Heinrich et al., 2020), dealing with psychological pressure (e.g., Vickers and Williams, 2007; Lindner, 2017) and the effectiveness of psychological interventions (e.g., Groslambert et al., 2003; Laaksonen et al., 2011). However, with only one exception (Harb-Wu and Krumer, 2019), biathlon-specific research has largely overlooked the degree to which social context factors may impact biathlon performance. Here, we advocate a holistic approach to gain a more complete understanding of the factors contributing to biathlon performance. Admitting to the fact that biological determinants, psychological factors, and social context never occur in isolation, but instead need to be considered in conjunction, we propose a biopsychosocial framework to guide future research efforts into biathlon performance.