One last opportunity to make up for it for Justine Braisaz-Bouchet. The Frenchwoman, Olympic champion in the specialty in Beijing in 2022, will be at the start of the mass start (12.5 km) on Saturday in Anterselva. She was preferred to Camille Bened for the last biathlon race of the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan Cortina.
Not selected for the mixed relay at the start of the fortnight, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet was in difficulty at the high altitude site (1600 meters) of Anterselva (Italy), with an 80th place in the individual (12/20 in shooting) and a 62nd place in the sprint (6/10), which meant she was then not qualified for the pursuit.
The French staff preferred to line up Camille Bened for the women’s relay on Wednesday, associated with Lou Jeanmonnot, Océane Michelon and Julia Simon. The team managed to win gold despite a sluggish first stint from Camille Bened (a penalty lap).
A similar scenario at the 2022 Olympics?
“All girls deserve to be at the start. We made the choice of Justine, we know what she has done in the past in this format, in this context, it is a great opportunity for her to end her Games on a good note,” explained Cyril Burdet after the morning training session on Friday.
On the high altitude site of Zhangjiakou (1,700 m) at the 2022 Olympics, the 29-year-old Savoyard also missed her first solo events (40th in the individual, 48th in the sprint and absent from the pursuit) before sublimating herself for the mass start, which she won ahead of the Norwegians Tiril Eckhoff and Marte Olsbu Roeiseland.
On Saturday, the French staff will therefore rely on the freshness of Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, also 2024 world champion and winner of the specialty World Cup in 2022.
“We will have a girl at the start who will have run a little less than the others this week. We hope it will make a difference on the track. In all the teams, we feel the weight of the days here. It’s up to us to do well,” underlined Cyril Burdet.
The three other French women at the start of the race in Anterselva are individual medalists, with Julia Simon in gold in the individual, Lou Jeanmonnot in silver in the individual and bronze in the sprint, and Océane Michelon in silver in the sprint.
