The team of veteran Simone Hauswald, double Olympic gold medallist Magdalena Neuner, Simon Schempp and Arnd Peiffer finished in 1 hour, 19 minutes, 59.5 seconds.

Ole Einar Bjoerndalen anchored Norway to silver, one minute, 24.0 seconds behind. Sweden was third, 1:30.8 back.

Megan Tandy of Prince George, B.C., Zina Kocher of Red Deer, Alta., Jean-Philippe Le Guellec of Shannon, Que., and Brendan Green of Hay River, N.W.T, finished 12th.

The International Biathlon Union schedules a one-off world championship race in the mixed relay during Olympic years, as the discipline is not part of the games. In other years, the event is held at the regular world championships.

Hauswald, who won bronze in the mass start at the Vancouver Olympics, fell behind Russia's Iana Romanova after missing two targets on the first shooting range, but used her strong skiing to give Nuener a 14.6-second lead at the first exchange.

Neuner, who clinched her second World Cup overall title on Saturday, then essentially decided the race by extending the lead to 1:20.8 over Norway ahead of the men's legs.

Norway won the only other mixed relay race this season in Kontiolahti, Finland, earlier this month.

It was the first world title for the 30-year-old Hauswald, who is ending her career and was competing in her last event.

In mixed relays, the women's two six-kilometre legs are followed by the men's 7.5K legs, with two shooting ranges each.

The event was held in the renovated biathlon stadium in Khanty-Mansiysk that will host the world championships next year.

Copyright The Canadian Press