KONTIOLAHTI, Finland - Darya Domracheva of Belarus won her first World Cup race on Saturday, the 7.5-kilometre sprint.
Domracheva won in 21 minutes, 17.5 seconds. Olga Zaitseva of Russia had a chance to overtake Domracheva on the last portion of the skiing leg but she could not match Domracheva's pace. Kati Wilhelm of Germany was third.
Overall World Cup leader Magdalena Neuner of Germany was fifth, and increased her advantage to 10 points over Helen Jonsson of Sweden.
Meanwhile, all four women in Canada's biathlon squad reached qualifying for Sunday's pursuit competition. Led by two-time Olympian, Zina Kocher of Red Deer, Alta., it's the first time all four have placed in top-60.
"As a team we reached a few milestones today and that is something we are very proud of," said Kocher. "I think we are continuing to progress, and we are starting to see that bold, beautiful biathlon girl power."
Kocher finished in 20th place after clocking a time of 22:39.8, while Megan Imrie of Falcon Lake, Man., had her best-ever finish on the World Cup after crossing the line in 32nd spot.
"Hitting that last target would have put me in the top-10, but I'm in a good spot for opportunities in the pursuit," added Kocher, who missed just one shot in her second of two trips to the range.
Megan Tandy, of Prince George, B.C. was 44h, while Rosanna Crawford, of Canmore, Alta., finished 57th.
In the men's 10-kilometre sprint, Russia's Ivan Tscherezov rallied past Norway's Emil Hegle Svendsen to win by 6.8 seconds in 24 minutes, 42.4 seconds.
-with files from The Canadian Press.
















