March 07, 2012 (Ruhpolding, GER) – American Susan Dunklee had the race of her life on Wednesday in Ruhpolding, Germany by finishing fifth in the women’s 15km Individual, only seven seconds off the podium.

Dunklee missed one shot out 20 as did the five top finishers and skied strong as well for the stellar result. Her previous best was 17th in the 7.5km sprint at Anholz, Italy, earlier this year.

Inspired by team mate Russell Currier’s 6th-place WCup performance only a few weeks ago, Dunklee told SkiTrax, “…that’s when I realized what was possible.”

Starting with bib #1, she was initially upset but then realized she had the advantage of firmer tracks. Heading out first forced her to focus on her own race. “My shooting felt entirely in the zone.  I wasn’t afraid of the targets,” Dunklee told us by email.  “The one target I missed shocked me as my shooting felt good – I think it was close.”

The top six skiers are part of the podium ceremony and Dunklee is motivated by her taste of success. “The awards ceremony tonight was a lot of fun and very emotional. What a wonderful moment to share with teammates, coaches, staff, etc.!”

For Tora Berger of Norway it was a special day as well as she captured the first IBU Worlds gold medal of her career, while France’s Marie Laure Brunet was 2nd, and Helena Ekholm of Sweden finished in the bronze medal position. Brunet was poised to threaten Berger’s grip on the gold but suffered a penalty on her final standing shot which cost her the gold.

IBU World Cup leaders, Magdalena Neuner (GER) and Darya Domracheva (BLR) were not able to challenge today placing a surprising 23rd and 25th respectively.

But Canadian Zina Kocher takes a measure of positive energy with her into the final weekend as she earned one of her best-ever IBU World Championship finishes placing 26th with four penalties. “It was not a terrible day but not fantastic either,” said Kocher in a team release. “I had strong skiing again and the race was going really well until the final standing. I knew I needed a clean standing for a top-15.”

Other North American results saw Canadian Megan Heinicke finishing in 30th, while American’s Lanny Barnes and Sara Studebaker placed in 37th and 38th respectively. Canada’s Megan Imrie finished 47th, while Annelies Cook of the USA was 66th and Yolaine Oddou of Canada finished in 97th place.

The IBU World Championships continue Friday with the Men 4×7.5km Relay event.

Full results HERE.