December 12, 2010 (Hochfilzen, Austria) – Helena Ekholm (SWE) won the women’s 10km Pursuit at the Biathlon World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria today after only a single shooting penalty in challenging conditions that included heavy snowfall and blustery winds. Kaisa Mäkäräinen (FIN) placed second with two penalties at 32s back, while Darya Domracheva (BLR) took third spot with three penalties and over 45s behind.

The USA’s Sara Studebaker finished in 50th at 6:34.2 behind the winner with five penalties at 6:34.2 while team mate Laura Spector placed 54th with a total of 7 penalties. No Canadian women qualified to race.

Tough conditions continued as the women faced similar heavy snow and gusting winds like the men’s relay earlier in the day but Ekholm was one of few skiers on the course that was not affected. Top competitors like Germany’s Magdalena Neuner and Anastasiya Kuzmina of Slovakia both had five penalties finishing 7th and 8th respectively. It was Ekholm’s first victory of the season and she won with a comfortable margin.

Full results HERE.
Video interviews HERE.