Hauser claims historic biathlon mass start World Championship victory in Pokljuka

Lisa Theresa Hauser produced a perfect performance at the shooting range to become 12.5km mass start biathlon world champion in Pokljuka.

She became the first Austrian woman to win a world title after triumphing on the Slovenian snow, as she zipped round the course in a time of 36:05.7 minutes.

Things were tight after the first of five laps in Sunday's event, with Swiss star Elisa Gasparin the first to get a shot away with the rifle but after going clear Hauser took the advantage.

The leader had Latvia's Baiba Bendika and Irina Kazakevich of Russia for company at the end of the second lap, but Hauser's relentlessness with the gun saw all contenders slip by the wayside, in her performance that even shocked herself.

"I do not know what to say now," the Austrian said. "I had four lots of zero [penalties] for the first time of the year and it just happened in the World Championships.

"It is just unbelievable. I am here now and totally on top of the podium: world champion in the mass start, so I do not know what to say."

The Norwegian trio of Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, Tiril Eckhoff and Marte Olsbu Roeiseland were left to fight among themselves for the other two medals on offer in Pokljuka, with Hauser finishing 21.7s ahead of the chasing pack.

Eventually, it was Tandrevold who won the race to the line, with the 24-year-old capitalising on missing just one target on her four visits to the shooting range, as she edged out Eckhoff - who missed three times - by just 1.3s in the final stages.

That left reigning champion Roeiseland to go home without a medal this year, as she wasn't able to recreate her performance from Rasen-Antholz from 2020, despite missing the target just once on her way round the course.

Sportsbeat 2021