The Pursuit Competition
Eligibility to compete, and the start order and intervals in a Pursuit competition are based on a qualifying competition, which is normally held the previous day. Both the Sprint and the Individual competitions can be used as the qualifying competition, but the Sprint is the norm. In the Pursuit Competition, four bouts of shooting take place: prone, prone, standing, standing. The total number of participants in World Cup Pursuit competitions is 60.
The basic concept of the Pursuit is that the winner of the qualifying competition starts first, and the remainder follow in the order and time that they finished behind the winner in the qualifying competition. The Pursuit is highly exciting because at any time it is easy to see who is leading, and due to the psychological thrill of the competitors pursuing the athletes ahead of them. The first competitor to cross the finish line is the winner, subject to any penalties or time adjustments. If competitors are lapped in the competition, they must withdraw from the competition at a suitable area in connection with the shooting range.�
