March 18, 2007 – It came down to the final race of the year, to decide who was taking home the crystal globe. In one of the most dramatic finishes of the season, Germany’s Andrea Henkel came away with the women’s Overall World Cup title.

In the hunt for the title Henkel was joined by Sweden’s Anna Carin Oloffson and another German, Kati Wilhelm. It looked like Oloffson was going to have no problems claiming the title after Henkel missed all five targets in the first shooting bout and found herself more than two minutes behind her rival. However, mistakes cost Olofsson her lead, and eventually Henkel was able to make up the time difference and finish ahead of the Swede, taking the title by only seven points.

All the excitement surrounding the Overall title overshadowed the first World Cup victory for 22-year-old Helena Jonsson, of Sweden. Missing only one of her targets, Jonsson finished the race in 39 minutes 26.11 seconds, defeating Oksana Khvostenko, of the Ukraine and Germany’s Kathrin Hitzer.

Red Deer, Alta. native, Zina Kocher, had a disappointing final day, posting six shooting errors and finishing the day in 30th-place, +4:36.2 behind the winning time by Jonsson. Kocher will now return to Canada to compete for the national title at the Biathlon Canadian Championships, in Charlo, N.B., March 19-25.

Women

1. Helena Jonsson, SWE, 39:26.11
2. Oksana Khvostenko, UKR, +3.2
3. Kathrin Hitzer, GER, +16.4
4. Anna Boulygina, RUS, +23.1
5. Sandrine Bailly, FRA, +40.5

30. Zina Kocher, Red Deer, Alta., +4:36.2

For full results please visit www.biathlonworld.com.For more info visit www.biathloncanada.ca.