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RUHPOLDING, Germany (AP) — The Czech Republic won a second successive World Cup women's biathlon relay in tough conditions on Wednesday.
The Czech foursome also won the 4x6-kilometer event last week in Oberhof, Germany.
Anchored by Veronika Vitkova, the Czechs mastered slushy conditions to beat Belarus and its star, three-time Olympic gold medalist Darya Domracheva, by 1 minute, 13.3 seconds.
Germany had to race a penalty lap and finished third, 1:39.3 behind the winners.
Eva Puskarcikova, Gabriela Soukalova, Jitka Landova and Vitkova missed nine targets but avoided any penalty rounds.
Belarus missed six shots but also avoided any penalties.
Germany's opener, Franziska Preuss, led the event but then missed the last target for the penalty lap.
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