French biathlete Julia Simon, 26, became world pursuit champion (10 km) for the first time on Sunday in Oberhof, Germany.
The overall leader of the World Cup finished ahead of Germany's Denise Herrmann-Wick and Norway's Marte Olsbu Roeiseland.
Simon offers himself a second medal in these Worlds after the bronze won with the French mixed relay at the start.
Only tenth in the sprint, the Frenchwoman started 1 min 03 sec behind the German Denise Herrmann-Wick, victorious on Thursday.
Sick, two other favorites, the Italian Lisa Vittozzi and the Swede Elvira Oeberg – second and third respectively in the World Cup standings – could not start.
Despite the thick fog that fell on Oberhof as during the men's sprint the day before, Simon proved to be imperial in shooting.
She signed a clear round on both shots lying down and the first shot standing up and only committed one fault on the second shot standing up.
Conversely, the German Denise Herrmann-Wick was more imprecise and even cracked by missing the target twice on the second standing shot, letting the French slip away to victory.
With this first individual world title, Simon confirms his domination this season.
Leading the overall World Cup standings, she has already won three individual races (including two pursuits).
