According to my blog stats the question if men or women are the better shots has always been one of the top search keywords that point people to this site. I wrote a post about that a long time ago, but since it’s of high interest apparently I took a more detailed look at the gender differences in biathlon shooting.
Note: It’s difficult to make any definitive statements about shooting trends, because it all depends on what group of athletes you look at. There isn’t one single group which represents the strength of the whole field perfectly, so it will always be slightly imprecise.
| 2001
–02 | 2002
–03 | 2003
–04 | 2004
–05 | 2005
–06 | 2006
–07 | 2007
–08 | 2008
–09 | 2009
–10 | 2010
–11 | 2011
–12 | 2012
–13 |
| Top 10 | +3.0 | -1.4 | +2.9 | +6.6 | -0.3 | +2.8 | -2.2 | +1.7 | -1.6 | +1.6 | -0.8 | +1.6 |
| Top 20 | +2.6 | +1.0 | +3.0 | +2.2 | +1.3 | +1.9 | +0.7 | +0.4 | -1.9 | +2.0 | -0.5 | +1.2 |
| Top 30 | +1.2 | -0.3 | +2.7 | +4.1 | +1.2 | +1.5 | -1.0 | -0.3 | -1.5 | +1.6 | -0.2 | +0.1 |
| Top 40 | -0.5 | +0.3 | +3.0 | +2.3 | +0.7 | +0.7 | -2.2 | +1.0 | -1.3 | +1.0 | +1.6 | -0.1 |
| Top 60 | -0.2 | +0.8 | -0.2 | +1.6 | +1.6 | +1.2 | -1.3 | +0.9 | -2.0 | +0.3 | +1.0 | +2.3 |
| Top 100 | +0.2 | +1.9 | -0.1 | +0.5 | +2.3 | +0.6 | -0.1 | +0.6 | -2.4 | +0.2 | -0.1 | +2.2 |
Shooting percentage differences (in %) Men / Women per selected group, last 12 years
Positive values: men were more accurate; Negative values: women were more accurateDuring the last 12 seasons, the differences in non-team shooting accuracy between men and women have been small. For two seasons (2007–08 and 2009–10) women were better, in 2004–05, 2006–07 and 2010–11 men are ahead across the board. For most of the other seasons there is no clear picture, although men’s shooting results lead more of the selected groups (and often with bigger margins).
Last year, the shooting percentages for men and women were virtually identical for the top 30 or top 40, however men were over 2 % more accurate in the broader groups (top 60 or top 100). Overall, you probably have to give men a slight edge (of maybe 1 %), even though women were clearly better from 2007–08 to 2009–10.
| 2001
–02 | 2002
–03 | 2003
–04 | 2004
–05 | 2005
–06 | 2006
–07 | 2007
–08 | 2008
–09 | 2009
–10 | 2010
–11 | 2011
–12 | 2012
–13 |
| Top 10 | +4.2 | +1.4 | +3.3 | +2.4 | +3.3 | +1.7 | +2.8 | +3.1 | +4.3 | +4.3 | +3.4 | +5.2 |
| Top 20 | +3.7 | +1.5 | +2.4 | +1.7 | +2.6 | +3.2 | +3.0 | +3.2 | +2.9 | +3.3 | +3.4 | +3.5 |
| Top 30 | +2.3 | +1.6 | +2.3 | +2.0 | +3.5 | +3.7 | +3.2 | +3.3 | +2.5 | +3.5 | +3.8 | +3.7 |
| Top 40 | +2.3 | +2.3 | +2.0 | +2.2 | +3.7 | +3.4 | +2.7 | +3.4 | +2.5 | +4.1 | +4.2 | +3.5 |
| Top 60 | +2.8 | +2.9 | +2.6 | +2.6 | +2.6 | +3.3 | +3.4 | +3.1 | +2.8 | +3.8 | +4.2 | +3.7 |
| Top 100 | +2.8 | +3.1 | +3.0 | +2.3 | +2.6 | +3.4 | +2.7 | +3.2 | +3.4 | +4.1 | +3.9 | +4.2 |
Male Shooting Time advantage (in sec) per selected group, last 12 yearsIn terms of shooting time, the gender differences are much more obvious. Men shoot considerably faster. In fact, men have increased the gap from about 3 to 4 seconds in the last 12 years.
Physical strength plays a small part in shooting (relative to their body weight the rifle (3.5 kg) is heavier for most women), but differences of 10 % and more in average shooting time are quite a lot. The large gap might partly be down to a different mental approach (risk taking/range strategy?).
If you combine shooting accuracy and shooting pace and look at the time lost at the shooting range, the gap between men and women becomes much bigger (about 20 s last season for sprints). However, at least half of that range time is spent on skis, so this comparison is unfair: women lose almost 2 seconds approaching and exiting the range and they ski the penalty loop about 3 seconds slower than men.
What’s the bottom line? Generally, men shoot better than women: they are not necessarily more accurate, but on average much quicker (in a sprint about 4*2 = 8 seconds only in “shooting time” last year).