Dahlmeier takes third World Championship title

The title marks the German's fourth medal at this year's World Championships, having already won the 10km pursuit and mixed team title, as well as finishing second in the sprint.

It means that Dahlmeier has now won a medal in nine straight World Championship races, matching the all-time record set by Norway's Tora Berger.

Dahlmeier crossed the line in a time of 41:30.1 minutes, having picked up just a solitary penalty on the shooting range, but she insists she didn't let her mistake affect her performance.

"My looseness is the secret," she said. "I didn't let myself get distracted from missing that target.

"The race isn't over until you finish."

Gabriela Koukalova of the Czech Republic took the silver medal, coming home 24.7 seconds after Dahlmeier with the same number of penalties.

Koukalova had led for much of the race, and while she missed out on top spot, she still came away with her third medal of the Championships.

"In the finish I hoped my time was good enough to beat Laura," she said.

"It's better than excellent to have a third medal. It's amazing."

Clean-shooting Alexia Runggaldier took the bronze medal, finishing 1:45.6 behind to complete the podium line-up.

There was a shock result for defending champion Marie Dorin Habert however, after she missed four targets in total and crossed the line nearly five minutes behind in 40th place.

The World Championships continue on Thursday with the men's 20km individual competition. Sportsbeat 2017