Biathlon-France's Simon powers to women's individual biathlon gold

ANTERSELVA, Italy, Feb 11 : France's Julia Simon won the women's 15km individual biathlon race at the Winter Games on Wednesday, making up for a single miss on the shooting range with a powerful skiing performance on the track to add individual gold to a mixed relay victory.

Simon's compatriot Lou Jeanmonnot took silver, 53.1 seconds behind, with Lora Hristova securing a surprise bronze for Bulgaria. However, it was Simon's composure that stood out.

After a season that started slowly, the 29-year-old peaked for the Milan Cortina Olympics, displaying nerves of steel to anchor the France team to victory in the mixed relay on Sunday.

Simon was imperious on Wednesday in the individual race, brushing off the single miss and skiing with power and purpose.

With the top-ranked racers bunched in the middle of the pack and the field starting at 30-second intervals, competitors skied five three-km laps, stopping four times at the range and alternating between shooting from prone and standing positions.

    The winner is decided by the lowest overall time, but each miss on the range adds a hefty one-minute penalty, making precision a priority.

Jeanmonnot did her best to challenge in tough skiing conditions but her second miss proved to be the difference and she could not close the gap on the last lap.

There was huge joy for Bulgaria as outsider Hristova shot flawlessly to claim their first biathlon medal since Irina Nikulchina's bronze in the 10km pursuit at Salt Lake City 2002.