All eyes are on Turin this month as the world's finest athletes take part in the Olympics. But you don't have to be in the Olympics to participate in Olympic sports. With that in mind, reporter Laura Czekaj ventured in and around the capital to try her hand at 10 Olympic events. Today, biathlon

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It's awfully hard to shoot a .22-calibre rifle at a target the size of a drink coaster from 50 metres away with your heart thumping in your chest.

Steady the gun, hold my breath. Ready, aim... fire.

"Ping" as the bullet hits its mark. "Ping, ping, ping." Silence. Damn missed one.

Not bad for someone who has never held a gun before.

But the slightly increased heart rate I achieved by running in circles is nothing compared to the surging heart rate of real biathletes like the ones competing in the Winter Olympics or even the next generation of Olympic prospects.

'IT'S JUST THE ADRENALINE'

"I love racing because, I don't know, it's just the adrenaline," says Jessica Nilsson, 15.

"It's just trying to do your best and I love it."

Nilsson, Thomas Dixon, 16, and Dixon's 13-year-old brother, Phillip, are finishing up a training session on the shooting range nestled in the trees at Camp Fortune.

The trio are members of the Chelsea Nordiq Biathlon racing team coached by former Olympian Jamie Kallio.

Reserved in nature, but swift on skis and accurate with a gun, Thomas Dixon has big dreams of competing in the nationals and the Olympics.

"I like to push myself to the limit I feel good after that," says the blond, curly-haired teen.

POSES A BIG CHALLENGE

Phillip Dixon says many of his peers confuse the sport -- which combines two contradictory disciplines, skiing and shooting -- with the triathlon which combines running, biking and swimming.

The biathlon poses an incredible challenge for athletes by incorporating the physically exhausting cross-country racing with the stability and control required to shoot a target.

The clock is running the whole time.

"It's not everybody who likes it because at first skiing and shooting is not that easy to do so you have to be confident to do this sport,"said Nilsson. "You have to tell yourself you can do it or else you can't go really far."

Getting far in this sport takes a lot of work, time and dedication.

The Olympics will provide these local athletes with an opportunity to cheer on their national heroes, including Robin Clegg, who has trained at the same range as them.

"It takes hundreds of hours to get competent and then thousands of hours to get to that level," said Kallio.

Nilsson and the Dixons are at the mid-point of their training, but are well on their way to becoming Canadian role models in their own right.

"We do it for fun and you try to do your best," said Nilsson.

"And if you don't do a good race, well you learn from that and you get better."

BIATHLON FACTS

- The Chelsea Nordiq Club is a volunteer community ski club which offers a variety of programs and events for children, adults and families.

- The biathlon was originally used by Northern Europeans who skied to hunt for food and, later, skied with weapons to defend their countries, according to the International Olympic Committee website.

- The word biathlon stems from the Greek word for two contests. Today, it is interpreted as a joining of two sports: Cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.

- Biathlon has been an Olympic sport since 1960.