Horchler had been beaten by her sister Nadine in Thursday’s (February 25) 7.5 kilometres sprint event and an early missed shot in the women’s 10km pursuit hindered her early progress.

By contrast Skardino shot impressively during the opening three stages of the event to build an advantage over her rivals for the overall victory.

With time on her side in the final stage, the Belarusian was cautious during the final stage of the event, but missed two shots.

Despite having to complete penalty loops, Skardino’s performance in the early stages of the race enabled her to take the gold in 30min 1.7sec.

Horchler crossed the line in a time of 30:09.1 to claim the silver medal, while Norway’s Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold completed the podium with 30:15.8.

"Today I felt much better than during the sprint, because unfortunately before the sprint I had a long trip," said Skardino.

“But during the last few days I got some sleep and rest, so today, I felt good and confident, and glad to win.

“It is much better to come to the World Championships with nice feelings and a happy mood, especially since the last World Cup races were not so good.

“I had some problems with shooting then, so it is important that I had a win here."

Russia were able to claim gold and silver in the men’s 10km pursuit event, with home favourite Anton Babikov securing the win by the narrowest of margins.

The 24-year-old completed the distance in 30:01.5, while his team-mate Evgeny Garanichev ended just 0.1 adrift to claim the silver.

Germany’s Florian Graf secured the bronze medal as he finished 15 seconds clear of Norway’s clean shooting Vetle Sjastad Christiansen, after crossing the line in a time of 30:47.5.

The Championships will draw to a close tomorrow with the women’s 12.5km and men’s 15km mass start events.