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Dahlmeier wins record fifth biathlon gold

February 19, 2017

Laura Dahlmeier has written her name in her country's history books. The biathlete became the first woman to win five golds at a single world championship in Austria on Sunday, breaking a German record in the process.

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Österreich Biathlon WM 2017 Hochfilzen
Image: Reuters/L. Foeger

With a win in the women's mass start race, Dahlmeier improved on the record of compatriot Magdalena Neuner, who won three golds and two silvers in 2011.

In Hochfilzen, Austria on Sunday, Dahlmeier picked up first place in all six events - individual, sprint, pursuit, mass start, relay, mixed relay and team - at the tender age of 23, to match Norway's Tora Berger and Marie Dorin-Habert who managed similar success in 2013 and 2016 respectively.

The German athlete finished ahead of Susan Dunklee of the United States and Finland's Kaisa Makarainen to claim an incredible 11 back-to-back medals over the course of this competition and the previous one in Oslo last year.

"At the moment I haven't realised it. It's like a dream come true," Dahlmeier stated after the event. "It's gigantic, the fifth gold medal. Amazing how everything came together."

The race went down to the final round, with Dunklee and Dahlmeier hitting all their targets in the shooting. The German then overtook her opponent to win in 33 minutes and 13.8 seconds - 4.6 seconds ahead of her American opponents. Makarainen, who missed one target in the first prone shooting, finished 20.1 seconds behind.

(DPA, APE)

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