The Czech athlete hit all 20 targets before finishing in a time of 42min 27.7sec to clinch only her second victory of her career with her best performance of the season at the Slovenian venue.

"It is so nice to win, I am really happy," said the 24-year-old who won gold at the Junior World Championships in 2018.

"I don’t know how I pulled off 20-for-20.

"I was really lucky today because they were not middle hits, so I was lucky.

"I was calm before the shooting, but when I hit the 19th shot, I was like 'Oh my God, I need to hit the last one'.

"I was a little nervous, but I just pushed the bullet to the target with my mind."

Sweden’s Hanna Öberg, with one penalty, finished with the silver medal after registering a time of 42:55.6.

Norway’s Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, with one penalty, secured bronze with 43:31.7.

Austria’s Lisa Theresa Hauser, Svetlana Mironova of the Russian Biathlon Union, and Switzerland’s Selina Gasparin, took the next three places after all recording two penalties.

"It means a lot to me - every medal has a story," said Öberg who was disappointed to miss out on a medal in the sprint and pursuit competitions.

"After the previous races, to come back today and take a medal means a lot.

"I am really proud of this medal.

"You cannot expect to do perfect performances every day.

"That is why it is important for me to stay calm and believe that I can do something good the next day."

Tandrevold added: "I am relieved and happy and eager to share this medal with my boyfriend, family and team.

"I know that I have been in a position to win medals before and then missed the targets.

"Instead of focusing on what happened before, I felt calm today.

"I knew I had been in this position before and I knew how to handle it."

The IBU has announced that five members of the media contracted coronavirus following the latest round of testing, while all athletes tested negative.

Competition is due to continue tomorrow with the men’s 20km individual event.