PYEONGCHANG, South Korea - Norway's Ole Einar Bjoerndalen became a triple biathlon world champion Tuesday, speeding to victory in the men's individual race.

Bjoerndalen missed three targets in the crucial four shooting sessions, but skied fastest to win his third gold medal at the world championships.

He finished the 20-kilometre race in 52 minutes 28 seconds to beat Christoph Stephan of Germany by 14.1 seconds. Stephan hit all but one of the targets.

The world championships also double as a World Cup meet, and Bjoerndalen's win means the 35-year-old beat Swedish alpine skiing great Ingemar Stenmark's record of 86 World Cup victories. The biathlon World Cup is run independently of the International Ski Federation, however, which organizes the alpine, nordic and snowboarding circuits.

Croatia's Jakov Fak missed one shot to finish 17.1 seconds behind Bjoerndalen for the bronze, his first ever medal in any world championship or world cup.

Robin Clegg of Ottawa was the top Canadian in 39th place.

Athletes were punished for every missed target by an extra minute added to their race time.

The 35-year-old Bjoerndalen won the men's pursuit on Sunday after the judges initially stripped him of first place.

Bjoerndalen and several other athletes were punished for skiing off course, adding a one-minute penalty that put Bjorndalen in third place and handed the gold to Maxim Tchoudov of Russia.

The decision was reversed on appeal when it was determined that the skiing mistake had not given Bjoerndalen or the other athletes any advantage.

Russian media reported Tuesday that the Russian Biathlon Union would bring the matter before the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Defending individual champion Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway failed to start Tuesday after also missing the sprint and pursuit events due to illness.

Swedish athletes Bjorn Ferry and Car Johan Bergman opted not to ski the individual race and focus instead on Thursday's mixed relay. Sweden's coach Wolfgang Pichler said neither of the athletes felt fully fit.

Germany's Michael Greis, the individual cup overall leader, finished 19th, 2:21.9 behind Bjorndalen with four missed shots.

The championships continue Wednesday with the women's individual race