By Igor Grishin
Belarus’ Darya Domracheva finished second in the women’s 7.5km sprint, having missed two targets (1+1) over two shooting ranges. She crossed the line with a time of 21 minutes 43.2 seconds, 12 seconds behind winner Tora Berger. The Norwegian hit every target, earning her a well-deserved 25th victory. Third place went to Anastasiya Kuzmina, from Slovakia (2 misses: +30.9 seconds).
Domracheva started the pursuit race in second place, 12 seconds behind Ms. Berger. Sadly, she missed nine shots (1+2+2+4) across the four shooting ranges, finishing the 10km distance in 34 minutes 26.7 seconds. She was 14.5 seconds behind Tora. At the final shooting range, Darya hit only one target of five, leaving her in a poor position, despite being quickest on the track. Beforehand, she had been in third place, despite five misses on previous shooting ranges.
On the final day of the competition, Ms. Domracheva came third in the mass start, behind Ms. Berger and Slovakian Anastasiya Kuzmina. The Norwegian covered the 12.5km distance, which had four shooting ranges, within 36 minutes 58.8 seconds (three misses). Ms. Kuzmina was 5.4 seconds behind, having completed two penalty loops, while Ms. Domracheva was 23.3 seconds behind Tora, also having three misses. She led until the penultimate shooting range, where two misses brought her to eighth position. However, her speedy skiing and perfect shooting at the last range allowed her to overtake French Anaпs Bescond and come third.
Overall, Tora Berger boasts 1,069 points, Darya Domracheva has 748 and Germany’s Andrea Henkel has 699.
