Biathlon: Caroline Colombo, from biathlon to working life in just a few months
On February 5, biathlete Caroline Colombo from Mouthe (Doubs) announced that she was calling time on her high-level sporting career at the age of 28. Having suffered for many months from neuropathy that prevented her from taking part in the world’s biggest competitions, she had to put her skis and rifle away for good.
As soon as she made her retirement official, the Doubiste native hopped on a plane bound for South-East Asia for a long trip. It was really enriching, it felt good,” she tells Nordic Magazine. I came back to France in June and I told myself that I’d give myself the summer off to think about a professional project that interested me and that I could see myself working on.
But at the beginning of July, Caroline Colombo received a call from Vincent Jay, 2010 Olympic sprint champion and head of France Montagnes, an association whose aim, as its name suggests, is to promote mountain destinations.
He told me about the project for the new position of Engagement & Rayonnement, which had just been created,” explains the biathlete who won the mixed World Cup relay in Nove Mesto (Czech Republic) in March 2023. He told me that the aim was to understand all the challenges of the mountains and to manage to take care of its reputation in the short, medium and long term. All of this with the aim of successfully standardising the communications of all the players involved in France Montagnes, of which there are more than 200 in total.
“Having been a top-level sportswoman for ten years and knowing how to manage projects is a great calling card for companies”.
Excited and challenged by what she describes as an “ambitious” project , Caroline Colombo accepted the job and started work at the beginning of August in Chambéry (Savoie). I’ve become a Haut-Savoyard because I live in Annecy,” laughs the former student of theGrenoble Management School (Isère). It’s a bit of a change from the Jura, but it’s not bad!
Thanks to her status as a former professional sportswoman, Caroline Colombo, who played her last few seasons in the colours of the French National Police, has a great capacity to adapt.
Having been a top-level sportswoman for ten years and knowing how to manage projects is a great calling card for companies,” she admits. It’s also an asset in that I already know a bit about the mountains. Finally, I’ve been lucky enough to get my master’s degree in business and marketing in 2023 while doing high-level work, which not many athletes manage to do. It gives me a different set of academic, managerial and professional skills, as well as a different way of working. It also gave me the life skills that come with top-level sport, which allows me to adapt very quickly.
A challenging job promoting the mountains
As far as the tasks inherent in her work are concerned, La Meuthiarde tries to make things as easy to understand as possible.
“My aim is to standardise communications among all the players in the mountains, to restore the credibility and legitimacy of mountain dwellers. We want to take care of the mountain’s reputation from an ecological and economic point of view, because we have an absolutely magnificent mountain, and I want to take care of it”, says Caroline Colombo, who admits that during her first few weeks on the job, she found it hard to get used to the unusual office working hours.
All with the invaluable help of his two vice-presidents and line managers Yves Dimier, director of the Val Cenis ski area, and Jérémie Noyrey, deputy general manager of the SNMSF.
“With them, I feel like I’m back at the top level because there’s that team aspect. They pull me up and play a major role in my position, helping me a lot on a daily basis,” she says.
“I’ve loved my life as an athlete for ten years, I’ve experienced some crazy emotions, and I just want to retain the positive!”
Finally, eight months after the end of her career, the former sportswoman from the Jura mountains admits that she has completely moved on from biathlon.
I think the trip helped a lot,” she says. I’m really happy to see the girls’ results and to see them again. Last week, I went running with Justine [Braisaz-Bouchet] and Lou [Jeanmonnot]! I’m also still an athlete delegate for the FFS, so I’m still involved in the sport. I’ve loved my life as an athlete for ten years, I’ve experienced some crazy emotions, and I just want to take the positive out of it! Life was good on the inside, but it’s just as good on the outside”. At France Montagnes.
- Caroline Colombo announces the end of her career
- Caroline Colombo tells Nordic Magazine one last time after announcing her retirement: “I’m happy because I’m not going to end up bitter and I’m fine with that”.
- Caroline Colombo, still suffering from neuropathy more than a year after it started: “My open ankle fracture was nothing compared to what I’m going through”.
- Caroline Colombo’s diagnosis: “It’s neuropathy”.
- “My condition is progressing and the symptoms are diminishing”: how is Caroline Colombo, France’s big absentee at the start of the winter?
- “23/24 will be a blank season for me”: Caroline Colombo announces the end of her winter season
- What Caroline Colombo had to say after announcing her season off due to neuropathy: “I feel like it’s going to help me turn a corner, especially emotionally”.
