Biathlete Domrachava wins Olympic gold

Biathlon star Darya Domrachava (Domracheva) earned the first medal for Belarus at the Sochi Olympics, winning the women`s pursuit race on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old Domrachava clocked a time of 29 minutes, 30.7 seconds to finish 37.6 seconds ahead of her nearest rival, Norway`s Tora Berger. Teja Gregorin of Slovenia was third.

The Belarusian, who was the fastest skier in the race, hit 19 of the 20 targets, missing the last target in the final shooting round, when she already had a commanding lead.

Ms. Domrachava started ninth, more than 30 seconds behind Anastasiya Kuzmina of Slovakia, who won the sprint two days before, but cut the gap in half well before the first shooting. She grabbed the lead after the first shooting and never relinquished it.

Ms. Domrachava had never won an Olympic gold medal before. She won bronze at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.