Andrea Henkel of Germany took the gold medal in the women's 15-kilometre individual event at the Biathlon World Championships on Tuesday in Austria.

Henkel decided a race full of surprises in her favor when she clocked 52 minutes, 37.5 seconds to beat China's Sun Ribo by 30.2 seconds. Norway's Linda Tjoerhom was third, 34.3 seconds behind the winner.

"I can hardly believe it. I wasn't even meant to be here," said 27-year-old Henkel, who replaced ill teammate Martina Glagow. "I simply coped best with the difficult conditions."

Henkel's better shooting, with just one error in snow and wind, kept her ahead of Sun, whose silver medal was the second for her team at the championships.

Sun, who had two errors, was convinced her shooting performance secured her the medal.

"My shooting was sensational for me today. This medal is the best promotion for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing," she said.

Sun's runner-up finish was unexpected, as she had not scored a World Cup point all season.

Tjoerhom was delighted with third place. "My first top 10 finish at a big event is a podium finish. What more could I ask for," she said.

Olga Pyleva of Russia, the 2004 champion, finished sixth.

(China Daily March 10, 2005)