Defending champ Makarainen grabs first biathlon World Cup victory

NOVE MESTO, Czech Republic (AP) -- Defending overall champion Kaisa Makarainen won a biathlon event on Wednesday for her first World Cup victory of the season.

The 29-year-old Finnish skier missed two targets before completing the 15-kilometer individual race in 45 minutes, 3.3 seconds for her first win at the distance.

Helene Ekholm of Sweden missed once to finish second, 22.0 seconds behind, and two-time Olympic champion Magdalena Neuner of Germany was third.

Neuner retained her overall World Cup lead, 43 points ahead of Darya Domracheva of Belarus. Makarainen rose to third, 71 points off the pace.

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