Laura Dahlmeier Wins Gold Medal for Biathlon Olympics 2018 7.5-Km Sprint

Laura Dahlmeier took the gold medal in the Women's 7.5-kilometre biathlon sprint at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Saturday. 

Dahlmeier finished ahead of Norway's Marte Olsbu, while Veronika Vitkova of the Czech Republic was left to collect bronze.

Dahlmeier set an impressive time of 21 minutes, 06.2 seconds. The full times for every athlete who competed are available on the Games' official website.

Here's is the updated medal tracker:

Rather than her skiing, Dahlmeier's route to gold was forged by perfect shooting. She hit all 10 targets and didn't incur a single penalty at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre.

No penalties helped Dahlmeier set a time hard to catch for the rest of the field. The German crossed the line 24 seconds ahead of Olsbu, while Vitkova found herself an additional 1.6 seconds further back.

Olsbu had missed while prone, a costly error that undermined her otherwise fine progress in the difficult conditions. Vitkova also skied well but was off target when standing.

Al Bello/Getty Images

What had set Dahlmeier apart was the time she took over each shooting opportunity. Rather than tensing up in front of target, the German was patient enough to compose herself and make each shot count.

By contrast, fellow German skater Vanessa Hinz lost any fleeting chance of gold late on by snatching at her fifth shot during her final session in front of the targets. Hinz had been a perfect five of five from the prone position, but lost her nerve when standing.

Two-time Olympic champion Anastasiya Kuzmina had to settle for 13th spot after incurring three penalties for costly misses.

Yet no competitor found being off-target more costly than Italy's Dorothea Wierer, per IBU World Cup:

Dahlmeier had shown the rest how it should be done, with her medal a just reward for a superbly efficient performance.