ZHANGJAIKOU, China -- Denise Herrmann's performance on the range, missing only one of 20 shots, put her at the front of the pack.
Her fast skiing didn't hurt, either.
Herrmann won the women's 15-kilometer individual race in biathlon on Monday at the Beijing Olympics after a season of mixed results on the World Cup circuit. The German's only podium finish this season was a bronze medal in the individual race in Oestersund, Sweden.
Herrmann, a former Olympic cross-country skier, won Monday's race in 44 minutes, 12.7 seconds.
Anais Chevalier-Bouchet of France missed her last shot, a costly mistake, and took silver, 9.4 seconds behind Herrmann. Marte Olsbu Roeiseland of Norway, the overall World Cup leader, missed two shots, one prone and one standing, and settled for bronze, 15.3 seconds behind.
The women raced over 15 kilometers in five ski loops, shooting twice in the prone position and twice standing between each lap. In all other biathlon events, they ski a 150-meter loop for each missed shot, which takes about 20 seconds. But in the individual race, one minute is added for each miss, making shooting accuracy especially important.
Defending Olympic champion Hanna Oeberg of Sweden had three misses in her standing shooting and finished 23rd, 2:23.1 behind. Marketa Davidova of the Czech Republic, the leader in the World Cup individual standings, also missed her last shot and finished sixth, 31.9 seconds behind Herrmann.
"I think it was just my mistake. It was nothing special," Davidova said of missing the last shot. "I was trying to do what I did in the 19 shots before, but one goes up so one miss, and it's quite a lot in this race today."
Some of the biggest obstacles on the biathlon range -- strong wind and frigid temperatures -- were less of a factor on Monday. Temperatures hovered around minus-10 degrees C (14 degrees F), compared to minus-15 C (5 F) for Saturday's mixed relay race. The winds calmed from around 15 kph (9.3 mph) to around 5 kph (3 mph).