March 16, 2013 (Khanty-Mansiysk, RUS) – Gabriela Soukalova of the Czech Republic continued her wining ways on Saturday in Khanty-Mansiysk by taking her second consecutive victory in Russia, and her third of the 2012/13 season by winning the women’s 10km Pursuit in a time of 30:58.8 with two penalties.

In second was Russia’s Olga Vilukhina who suffered three penalties finishing at 7.0 seconds back while Tora Berger of Norway claimed the 54th podium finish of her career, finishing 3rd at 14.8 seconds back with two penalties.

Fresh snow made the tracks better as Soukalova explained to biathlonworld.com. “It was a little faster than before; it was great weather. I was only little afraid of the shooting,” commented the winner.

American’s Annelies Cook and Susan Dunklee had a less than ideal day on course today. Cook finished at 4:22.5 back with four penalties, good for 35th place while Dunklee struggled on the range suffering 11 penalties including additional penalties incurred for a cross-fire in her last standing stage, and finished in 58th place at 8:07.7 behind the winner.

“Today was a tough day for me, even though the result was not too bad,” said Cook. “I was so happy to start off doing well, and to keep moving up by skiing well and cleaning the first three stages. But when I came into the last stage my insecurities about standing, and the thoughts running through my head that if I cleaned it would be a great day, proved to be too much.

It’s funny how different it is to have a penalty in each loop versus four in one stage, but that’s something that I have to work on- figuring out how to handle the mental pressure of being in a good spot that is riding on one shooting stage. I am disappointed in myself, but luckily it is all still part of the learning process.”

It was a challenging day for Dunklee who hails from Barton, VT). “I made some huge mistakes out there today that resulted in one of my toughest results to date,” said Dunklee. “To top it off, my coach told me afterwards that I cross fired in the last stage and incurred more penalties. The last couple weeks for me have been a classic example of the emotional rollercoaster that we athletes ride.”

The Canadian women opted to pass on the final round in Khanty-Mansiysk and are competing in Whistler, BC, at the 2013 North American and Canadian Biathlon Championships.

Full results HERE.