March 16, 2014  (Kontiolahti, Finland) – The USA’s Susan Dunklee battled windy conditions on the range to finish 7th in today’s 10km pursuit with seven penalties at 3:01.4 behind winner Kaisa Makarainen (FIN) with a time of 30:52 including two penalties, as she swept all three women’s events in Kontiolahti.

Susan Dunklee (USA) on her way to 7th © Nordic Focus

Darya Domracheva (BLR) placed second at 1:00 behind Makarainen with one penalty while Olga Zaitseva (RUS) with five penalties had a tough time on the range as many did but was still able to grab in third at 1:54.3 behind.

Kaisa Maekaeraeinen (FIN) © Nordic Focus

“The wind made for some challenging shooting,” said Dunklee. “During my final standing stage, I had to wait out strong gusts. For long moments, there were no sounds of shots from anyone on the range, a very unusual occurrence. Skiing felt great again and I’m looking forward to one last week of World Cup action!”

Two-time Canadian Olympian Rosanna Crawford, was the lone Canuck on the startline with the top-60 biathletes, placing 27th at at 4:11.5 (1+2+0+3). The USA’s Hannah Dreissigacker finished 49th at 5:31.0 (36:23/+8), and Sara Studebaker (Boise, ID) was 54th at 6:43.3 (37:35.3/+5). The IBU World Cup season concludes in Oslo Holmenkollen, beginning March 20 with the sprint events.

Results here.