BEIJING, Jan. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- King Ole is back to top form in time, boosting Norway's biathlon strength in the Feb. 10-26 WinterOlympic Games in Turin, Italy.

    Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, the five-time Olympic champion, beat a strong opposition to win the last World Cup race before the Turin Olympics, after struggling in the first half of the 2005-2006 season.

    Norwegians are already talking about Bjoerndlen's chance to better countryman Bjorn Daelie's eight-gold record and become the most decorated Winter Olympian in the world.

    The 31-year-old Bjoerndalen, who saw his form drop after sweeping four titles in the 2005 world championships, beat overall World Cup leader Raohael Poiree of France by a massive 1:22.7 in the mass start race in Anterselva, Italy, last Sunday.

    It was only the second season victory but the 57th overall for Bjoerndalen who won the four men's golds on offer at the 2002 Olympics and also has one Olympic gold from 1998.

    Norway's closest rival in the sport is Germany, which nabbed three golds in the 2002 Olympics with Russia picking the only remaining title.

    Biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, was originally used as a means for hunting. Norway, which has recently dominated the sport at the Olympic level, uses the sport as a military tactic for defending the nation's borders.

    Germany, however, is the most successful biathlon nation, having swept 27 Olympic medals, against Norway's 17. Former Soviet Union had dominated the sport before 1988 with 20 medals.

    Germany has four athletes in the top five men's overall rankings, with Michael Roesch, Sven Fischer, Michael Greis and Alexander Wolf rated from the second to fifth. Bjoerndalen is sixth, followed by his countryman Frode Andresen.

    World Cup leader Poiree and his Norwegian wife Liv Grete, listed 10th in the women's rankings, are looking for the rare feat of a husband and wife winning gold medals at the same Olympics after clinching three silvers and one bronze between them in last Games.

    Germany's Kati Wilhem, a runaway leader in the women's rankings,will be an odds-on favorite in Turin. Her teammate Uschi Disl, ranked second, is equally competitive.

    At Turin biathlon will be contested in five events for men and women. The men's events include 20km individual, 10km sprint, 12.5km pursuit, 4x7.5km relay and 15km mass start, while the women's events feature 15km individual, 7.5km sprint, 10km pursuit,4x6km relay and 12.5km mass start.

    Biathletes use .22 caliber rifles, which each weighs a minimum of 3.5kgs. In each discipline there are shooting stops along the course.

    At each stop, competitors have five bullets and five targets tohit. Each miss in the sprint, pursuit, and relay events results ina 150m penalty loop. A miss in the individual event adds one minute to the athlete's final time. Enditem