Dahlmeier inches closer to overall glory with Finnish triumph

Dahlmeier incurred only one fault in the shooting and crossed the line in 29:54.4 minutes to take gold ahead of France's Marie Dorin Habert and Lisa Vittozzi of Italy.

The German beat Dorin Habert by 16.5 seconds and, with Gabriela Koukalova finishing down in tenth, it moved her ever closer to a first overall World Cup title of her career.

If she seals the overall crown in Oslo next week, the 23-year-old will become the fifth German to do so after Martina Glagow (2003), Kati Wilhelm (2006), Andrea Henkel (2007) and Magdalena Neuner (2008, 2010 and 2012).

She currently has a 167-point advantage over Koukalova with just three races remaining and is all but certain to finish the job in Norway.

Dahlmeier has now won an individual World Cup race ten times this season, and 15 races in total including relays – the latter equalling Tora Berger for the most by a woman in a single campaign.

Sportsbeat 2017