Crawford claims biathlon first

Canadian biathlete Rosanna Crawford claimed her first World Cup podium place after finishing third in a women’s 15-kilometre individual race on Thursday.

“Not something I was really expecting this season,” Crawford said, who shot cleanly in the race.

Italy’s Dorothea Wierer also shot cleanly to win in 41 minutes, 29.0 seconds, ahead of Kaisa Makarainen of Finland — who missed one target — by 12.7 seconds and Crawford by 21.2.

Ukrainians Yuliia Dzhima and Valj Semerenko finished fourth and fifth, respectively, followed by Darya Domracheva.

Belarus teammate Nadezhda Skardino’s seventh place was enough to win the individual crystal globe after her first place in Ostersund, Sweden.

Overall World Cup leader Anastasiya Kuzmina finished ninth, 1:32.3 behind with three missed targets. After 11 races, the Slovak biathlete leads on 454 points, ahead of Makarainen on 429 and Wierer on 378.

The men’s relay was scheduled for Friday.

SVEN HOPPE, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Canada’s Rosanna Crawford celebrates after her third-place finish at the women’s 15 km individual biathlon race in Ruhpolding, Germany.