Darya Domracheva of Belarus won the IBU World Cup event in Kontiolahti ©IBU

Darya Domracheva of Belarus missed only one shot - her final standing effort - in winning today’s 7.5 kilometres women’s sprint at Kontiolahti, venue for the latest International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup event.

The three-times Olympic champion at Sochi 2014, a gold medallist in the team relay event and silver in the 12.5km mass start event at Pyeongchang 2018, flew around the last loop to secure her third World Cup win of the season in 20min 56.5sec.

Franziska Hildebrand of Germany finished second, shooting clean and finishing just 0.5 seconds behind.

Third place went to Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi, with one penalty, finishing 5.5 seconds back.

This Finnish venue continues to be a good place for Domracheva.

She won the sprint/pursuit double there at the IBU Youth/Junior World Championships there in 2005 and claimed her first two World Cup victories there in 2010, just weeks after taking her first Olympic medal, a bronze, at Vancouver.

Juliya Dzhyma of Ukraine finished fourth, shooting clean but ending up 17.2 seconds back.

Double Olympic gold medalist Laura Dahlmeier of Germany finished fifth with one penalty, 19.4 seconds back, while Pyeongchang 2018 sprint bronze medallist Veronika Vítková of the Czech Republic shot clean to finish sixth, 21 seconds back.

Darya Domracheva of Belarus won her third IBU World Cup race of the season at the Finnish venue of Kontiolahti ©IBU
Darya Domracheva of Belarus won her third IBU World Cup race of the season at the Finnish venue of Kontiolahti ©IBU

Conditions were similar to those the men had experienced on the previous evening – a temperature of minus five degrees and a strong wind cutting across the shooting range from the right to the left.

Despite the wind, there were plenty of early clean prone stages.

Domracheva raced around the first loop, shooting fast and clean to take the early lead by more than eight seconds.

Just behind her, Dahlmeier missed one shot, before Vittozzi moved into the lead by four seconds.

Domracheva had the chance for a big lead on the second loop, but missed her last standing shot.

But by the time the second loop was over, Hildebrand and Vittozzi had moved past her, with the German establishing a 16.4 seconds lead.

Domracheva pushed hard on the last loop, however, and continued to pull away from the field.

That effort proved too much for Vittozzi and Hildebrand ran out of energy at the close of the race, struggling home and missing out by less than a second.

The event is due to continue tomorrow with the single mixed relay.