First bittersweet individual victory. Winner of the Hochfilzen sprint on Friday December 13, Frenchwoman Lou Jeanmonnot varied between the satisfaction of success and the bitterness linked to the Julia Simon affair, returning to the group after serving her month of suspension. The best French biathlete of the moment went to seek her victory under the sun of Austrian Tyrol. A first flawless performance on the shooting range this winter and very good gliding under the skis.
“The race is not perfect, in the sense that the shooting is not fast. But I am proud to have managed to settle this shot standing up, because it was necessary”explained Lou Jeanmonnot after the race. “I was a little afraid of this shot in general over the last few weeks. Validating with this full tank, it feels good”underlined the 27-year-old Franc-Comtoise. “That means that she was really present, she knew how to adapt, to be patient. She did not remain stereotyped. It shows character”appreciated the Blue shooting coach, Jean-Paul Giachino, after the race.
But there remains the bitterness of evolving for several years in an atmosphere made difficult within the group by the credit card affair in which Julia Simon was recently convicted. Targeted by two complaints for having repeatedly used the bank cards of her teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and the team’s physiotherapist on several occasions from 2021, Julia Simon, ten-time world champion and winner of the World Cup in 2023, admitted the facts before the Albertville Criminal Court on October 24.
She was sentenced to three months in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros, and on December 7 finished serving her month of firm suspension, a disciplinary sanction imposed by the disciplinary commission of the French Ski Federation (FFS). In Hochfilzen, she made her return to the group and to competition, achieving a 19th place in the sprint.
“It’s heavy, it’s not how I would have wanted to live my career in the France A team. I would have liked it to be like when I was a cadet, that I went to training with friends, and happy to go. Unfortunately, this is not the case. But we learned to deal with it”commented Jeanmonnot on the microphone of the L’Equipe channel. A strong position from the woman who has become the leader of the French women’s team over the last two seasons, taking 2nd place in the World Cup in 2023/24 and 2024/25.
“Where I am disappointed is for Justine, because she is paying far too much for the things she was the victim of at one point”continued Jeanmonnot, referring to death threats on social networks against the daughter of Justine Braisaz-Bouchet. “I do my best to support Justine, who is a golden person and who was, casually, a little broken by all of this.”
Two months before the Milan Cortina Olympic Games at the Anterselva site, the atmosphere is heavy within the French women’s team, which had managed to get past the track in the previous two seasons. “The young girls were intelligent enough to put their private problems aside in all the camps and all the training and to train, and to ensure that, sportingly speaking, it went very well and that is what happened”however, estimated the boss of French biathlon, Stéphane Bouthiaux at the beginning of October.
Despite this affair, the French women have in fact won the last two world relay titles, carrying out a real raid in 2024 and 2025. Last season, five French women were placed in the first eight places overall. Saturday for the relay (4×6 km), the French team staff selected the first four Blues in the sprint (Camille Bened, Jeanne Richard, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Lou Jeanmonnot) and did not select Julia Simon.
Alongside this heavy atmosphere, the rising value of the French men’s team, Eric Perrot, has gained strength. Author of a 10/10 shooting, he took second place four seconds behind the Italian Tommaso Giacomel, immediately erasing the frustration of a missed first podium last week in the pursuit in Ostersund.
