Julia Simon and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, in legal conflict in a case of bank card fraud targeting the former, will be associated for the first time this winter in the women’s relay on Wednesday in Östersund (Sweden), announced Tuesday the French supervision.
Simon, holder of the big crystal globe, will conclude the French relay and will be launched by Braisaz-Bouchet, in the position of third relay runner.
This will be the first time that Simon, who admitted to being “mentally blunted” by the situation on Sunday, and Braisaz-Bouchet, will be lined up together since the latter filed a complaint against the former for bank card fraud.
Simon strongly contests the alleged facts, dating back to the summer of 2022, and has herself filed a complaint against X for identity theft.
Braisaz-Bouchet, who gave birth to her first child in early 2023, did not participate in the previous World Cup season. Lou Jeanmonnot, at the start, and Chloé Chevalier complete the French selection for the first women’s relay of the winter.
“I’m not going to paint a picture for you, the summer has been complicated, there’s pressure building up,” Simon said on Sunday. It seems weird to already say that I’m mentally blunted when it’s the first individual competition, but it’s the truth. It’s like that. You have to accept it. It will be complicated all winter, I think, to hold on. »
She continues: “It’s true that I am dull, mentally exhausted. I’m not going to cry, although… Biathlon is ultra short, you have to focus for twenty seconds, but one second of inattention and everything collapses. There, I had three, four seconds and the whole race really collapsed.”
Before turning towards a future that she shrouds in doubts: “This ability that I had last year to go play on one last shot, and to fill it up, this year, it will perhaps be more complicated. I will have to accept it, perhaps adapt too, I will still learn certain things about myself I think. It will allow me to see if I can get back on track when things are complicated, if I can hang on, or if I collapse.”
