Zaitseva races to second straight World Cup gold

17 Dec, 2011 18:40 / Updated 12 years ago

Russia’s Olga Zaitseva has won the 10-kilometer pursuit for her second victory in a row in the third stage of the Biathlon World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria.

Zaitseva produced flawless shooting to finish 29.1 seconds ahead of Helena Ekholm of Sweden, who was a bit faster on the track, but had one miss. Darya Domracheva from Belarus also made the podium, finishing the course 44.7 seconds behind the winner.It was Zaitseva’s 11th career World Cup victory, with her most recent success coming in the 7.5-kilometer sprint race on Friday. And, despite already having two golds in the bag, the 33-year-old says he’s still hungry for more.“It was very hard for me in the pursuit, a lot harder than a day before in the sprint race,” Zaitseva told the Russian Biathlon Union’s official website. “It’s hard to start first, without having any markers. You have to keep a high pace constantly, so that nobody catches up or passes you.”“There’s still one race left and we’ll find the strength for it. I want our team to snatch first place on the podium on Sunday too,” she added.    Zaitseva will be part of Russia’s team in the mixed relay, scheduled for December 18.