Semerenko wins women's mass-start race at biathlon worlds

KONTIOLAHTI, Finland (AP) Jakov Fak of Slovenia and Valj Semerenko of Ukraine won the men's and women's mass-start races Sunday on the final day of the biathlon world championships.

Fak won the men's 15K event after holding off Ondrej Moravec of the Czech Republic and Tarjei Boe of Norway in the final sprint to win in 36 minutes, 24.9 seconds. Moravec took silver, 1 second behind, and Boe was 3.7 seconds back in third.

All three medalists missed one target.

For Boe, it was his fifth medal in six starts at the worlds, making him the most successful male athlete at the championships.

All-time great Ole Einar Bjoerndalen of Norway was the only man to hit all 20 targets but finished fourth, 10.2 seconds back.

World Cup leader Martin Fourcade of France missed four shots and trailed in 19th by 42.8 seconds after two errors on the third station.

''The conditions at the shooting range were fair, and it was my own fault that I missed those shots,'' Fourcade said.

In the women's 12.5K race, Semerenko shot cleanly to earn her first individual world title.

Semerenko finished in 34 minutes, 32.9 seconds to beat Franziska Preuss of Germany by 6.2 seconds. Karin Oberhofer of Italy took bronze, 12.6 seconds back.

Darya Domracheva of Belarus led for much of the race but missed two targets at the third shooting station and finished fourth. Preuss was level with Semerenko going into the final shoot but missed one target to fall behind.

Maria Dorin Haber was the most successful female athlete at the championships, winning two titles and four medals.

The pre-championship favorites failed to perform as expected. Domracheva did not medal at all, and Finland's defending champion Kaisa Makarainen achieved a bronze.

France topped the standings with six medals - three gold, two silver and one bronze.

Germany was close behind with three gold and two silver medals.