Lægreid, who had not won a race on the World Cup circuit until the current campaign, shot clean on his way to recording a time of 49min 27.6sec.

The Norwegian finished the course 16.9sec faster then Arnd Peiffer of Germany, who also shot clean but had to settle for silver.

Norway's Johannes Dale took bronze, 40.9sec back and with one penalty.

Victory for Lægreid, who leads the race for the individual World Cup crystal globe, saw the 23-year-old maintain his form in what has become his breakout season in the sport.

It also earned him a second gold of the Championships at the Slovenian venue after he was part of the Norwegian team that topped the podium in the mixed relay on the opening day of the event.

"It's hard to believe and it is something I have dreamt about my whole life," said Lægreid.

"Even though I had such a good season, I did not expect to be world champion, so this feels incredible.

"I just had to try to stay focused and deliver good shots, and when I did that I had a bit of a gap so I was happy.

"But I was also a little bit tired and struggled towards the end."

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