Herrmann made just one mistake at the shooting range as she crossed the finish line in 44mins 12.7secs.

France’s Anais Chevalier-Bouchet also had one penalty but finished almost 10 seconds behind Herrmann in 44.22.1.

Norway’s World Cup leader Marte Olsbu Røiseland, who missed two shots, was 15.3 seconds further back in third position in 44.28.0.

It was a stunning success for Hermann who has not won on the World Cup circuit since March 2020 and had just one podium to her name this season.

Hermann’s gold in Beijing adds to her 10km pursuit world title in 2019 and Olympic 4x5km relay bronze at Sochi 2014.

"It was a dream but I never thought it would be enough for gold in the individual," said Herrmann who moved from cross-country to biathlon in 2016.

"It is a special race, the traditional biathlon race.

"In the last lap, I held a bit of energy.

"I had a really good race and it was much harder to ski then.

"I tried to make the best I could do today.

"At the end you never know what happens.

"The waiting after the race was horrible and I was much more nervous than before the race.

"That it is gold at the end is super amazing."

Herrmann missed a shot in her first standing stage but that was her only error as she produced a superb performance.

"I tried to focus on every target, not on range time," added Herrmann.

"I think I was really slow, but that is not important in the individual.

"You have to shoot clean.

"After the mistake, I said 'relax, relax’ because the pressure is there and it worked really well."

Competition is due to continue tomorrow with the men’s 20km individual.