March 14, 2013 (Khanty-Mansiysk, RUS) – Sunny skies, a light wind, and cold temperatures greeted athletes for the final round of the IBU World Cup series. Taking her second victory of the season was Gabriela Soukalova of the Czech Republic who shot perfectly en route to gold and a time of 21:25.6 in the women’s 7.5km Sprint.

Gabriela Soukalova (CZE) © Nordic Focus

Andrea Henkel of Germany also shot clean to claim second at 17.2 seconds back, while her teammate Miriam Gossner was 3rd, suffering one penalty to finish at 23.6 seconds back.

“I did not expect it; this is wonderful. I do not sleep very well; my body is on Czech Republic time,” Soukalova told biathlonworld.com.  “This morning I went for a short walk to breakfast and told one of my teammates that it was so cold that I did not want to race. She said, ‘you’re going to win,’ and I told her she was crazy!”

Team USA’s Susan Dunklee was the top North American finisher with two penalties, at 1:52.3 back of Soukalova.  “Even though it is the final stretch of our season, I am still experimenting with different ways to pace my race,” said Dunklee in a team release. “Today I learned a little more about when and where to push over the tops of the hills. I had a great ride behind Tora (Berger) during my second loop, and that helped me stay focused after a disappointing first shooting stage.”

Susan Dunklee © Nordic Focus

Fellow American Annelies Cook finished 36th at 2:14.4 back also with two penalties commenting that the cold temperatures can be tricky. “Today was the first really cold race of the season, but I managed to stay warm so I am glad of that,” said Cook. “It’s always so tricky to try and keep your fingers warm enough to feel the trigger.”

Rounding out the North American results was American Sara Studebaker who finished 3:28.1 back with two penalties. “Today was a tough race for me. I’ve been struggling a lot at the end of this season, and though I’m bummed to finish on this note, I am looking forward to making changes and getting it right so I can come back stronger for the Olympic year ahead,” said Studebaker.  “The cold was especially tough today as our last race was closer to +10C and today it was around -12C at race time.

Final podium (l-r) Henkel, 2nd, Soukalova 1st, Goessner 3rd © Nordic Focus

“That always makes things more complicated for biathlon – dealing with cold hands and staying warm in zero.  It’s been nice not to have to deal with much this year, but we got a reminder that this is indeed a winter sport today!”

No Canadians competed as they returned to Canada for the 2013 North American and Canadian Biathlon Championships:
March 15-20 at Whistler Olympic Park. Competition continues from Khanty-Mansiysk Friday with the men’s 10km Sprint.

Full results HERE.