She had never talked about it. Justine Braisaz-Bouchet had, until now, never spoken out about the insults and death threats of which she and her daughter were victims. An affair revealed and denounced a few days ago by Lou Jeanmonnot, her friend and partner of the French biathlon team.
“I am deeply disappointed for Justine because she is paying way too much for something she was a victim of at one point (Justine Braisaz-Bouchet had filed a complaint against her teammate Julia Simon for bank card fraud), regretted Jeanmonnot after his victory in the Hochfilzen sprint on Friday. Last week, she received death threats against her daughter. It disgusts me. »
This weekend, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet broke the silence. Exceptional guest of Bartoli Time on RMC on Sunday, the 29-year-old woman returned to this situation and these “hateful messages from angry people”.
“It gave me chills to read certain hateful messages,” she admits. At the end of the first World Cup weekend in Östersund, we were in Sweden. The French team had just won two relays out of three. I was part of the winning relays on Saturday and Sunday. In itself, this is not a gamble that was missed. It was a person written in French who had violent words towards my little daughter. I don’t know the reason why (he had these words), I didn’t even ask him the question. »
The 2022 Olympic champion in the mass start has since “deleted social networks” and felt the need to talk about it to those close to her, to her “friend” Lou Jeanmonnot.
“It gave me chills to read certain hateful messages”
“I needed to get that out because it really sent shivers down my spine. I wish networks didn’t exist for this reason. Once again, I am far from the only one to receive these kinds of messages. It’s important not to trivialize this. Now I try to protect myself as much as possible. Since then I haven’t set foot on the networks anymore. I think this is the best way to protect myself for my mental health. There are things, you have to know how to take a step back and protect yourself. »
Insults undoubtedly linked to the complaint filed against Julia Simon. “I receive a lot of insults in relation to the affair, to what happened. It made a lot of people angry. But honestly, I’m not even trying to find out why, everyone has their own opinion. The story came out in the media after Julia Simon’s breakout season in 2023. In a lot of people’s minds, I was really the troublemaker trying to frame the other guy. It lasted two and a half, three years in this tone, before the case was judged. »
The 29-year-old Savoyard was suspended for six months, including one month closed by the disciplinary commission of the French Ski Federation (FFS) for theft and bank card fraud.
“It obviously hurts me personally,” continues JBB. But I’m not here to change people’s minds. There are people who don’t like me, that’s how it is, I don’t have a problem with it. I just want to feel safe, physically, and my family in particular. These remain extremely violent messages. These I condemn and protect myself from. »
She was also questioned about the return of Julia Simon to the French team and the possible consequences on the atmosphere in the group. “I make my life,” assures Justine Braisaz-Bouchet. I try to respect everyone’s work space, no matter who is in front of me on my team or the foreign athletes, it doesn’t matter. In the biathlon family, I respect everyone’s professional space. And I live my life. In private, I have my friends, my family and I split it up like that. »
“I have an enormous chance to make a living from my passion, I am well aware of it and I am really in this state of mind to take every opportunity and do something big in each race,” concludes the biathlete who hopes to shine during the rest of the season with the Milan-Cortina Games in February as the focus.
