Belarus Wins Gold Medal for Biathlon Olympics 2018 4x6km Relay

Belarus won gold in the women's 4x6-kilometre relay at the 2018 Winter Olympics on Thursday as the penultimate event in the biathlon came to a close in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The silver medal went to Sweden while France took bronze as the victors shot and skied their way to triumph in a time of one hour, 12 minutes and 3.4 seconds.

Darya Domracheva flew over the line on behalf of Belarus in the final leg of Thursday's relay, collecting her second medal of these Games and her first gold after claiming three at the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia.

Here's a look at the updated medal table after Thursday's biathlon result:

Domracheva spearheaded a Belarusian team that also comprised Dzinara Alimbekava, Iryna Kryuko and Nadezhda Skardino, though the former stands as the most decorated star, per Sara Germano of the Wall Street Journal:

It may have been Belarus who finished strongest, but it was the Italians who set off fastest in blustery conditions at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre.

They led the pack heading to the second shooting station with Germany just in behind, the latter knowing that gold in the relay would move their nation to the top of the medal standings.

Some penalties accrued by Dorothea Wierer in the shooting sent Italy hurtling down the order and allowed Slovakia to sneak into the lead, though only temporarily, as Anastasiya Kuzmina's own shooting slips let her down.

Weather conditions were telling as competitors started to take more time with their shooting rounds, and the tug-of-war for the lead was illustrated as five perfect shots led Wierer back into the lead.

However, Finland were also jostling for first place, per the IBU World Cup Twitter account:

Germany's chances of adding to Laura Dahlmeier's two gold medals at these Games already appeared slim as they slipped two minutes off the pace following a messy shoot from Franziska Hildebrand.

Another Italian, Nicole Gontier, fell short at the shooting range and missed her last two shots to allow Belarus a run at first, with France and Poland also vying.

Domracheva has been in these circumstances on countless occasions and held her nerve when others in the field could not to add a fourth Olympic gold to her cabinet, per CNN:

Her cool shooting in the last leg opened the door to victory, and she gleefully waved through with the Belarusian flag held aloft.

Sweden were a little more than 10 seconds off the pace and benefited from a late surge up the field, while France held their place to clinch the bronze after competing around the summit for much of their race.