Biathlon: IBU rules save French women’s team staff from brain knots
From 12 to 23 February, the 2025 Biathlon World Championships will be held at the Roland Arena in Lenzerheide (Switzerland). The French women’s team will be eagerly awaited in all the races. After an impressive start to the season, the aim is to win as many medals as possible.
Just when you might have thought that the sheer density of the group – with Lou Jeanmonnot, Julia Simon, Jeanne Richard, Océane Michelon and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet in the top 9 overall after six stages out of nine – was going to give the coaching staff nerves for the Worlds, it turned out to be nothing of the sort.
Firstly, as she is the reigning world champion in the sprint and pursuit, Julia Simon from Beaufort has an extra quota in her name for this combination , in accordance with point 12.6.1.1.1.c) of the IBU’s rules for events and competitions.
A regulatory paragraph offering the French five places in the sprint, then the pursuit, at the World Championships in Lenzerheide. The same goes for the mass start, a speciality in which Justine Braisaz-Bouchet is the reigning champion.
The Norwegians, for their part, will be six in all the individual races
As far as the individual event is concerned, point 12.6.1.1.1.b) of the IBU regulations comes into play to allow France to enter five girls at the start instead of the usual four. This paragraph states: “Federations with more than four athletes ranked in the top 15 of the overall World Cup ranking are entitled to enter these competitors, but the quota may not exceed five athletes per Federation”.
As a result, Lou Jeanmonnot, Julia Simon, Jeanne Richard, Océane Michelon and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet will all be able to take part in the individual events at the World Championships. In fact, this single point of regulation – without the one relating to the reigning champions mentioned above – would have enabled Les Bleus to be five in all the individual events of the competition.
In the men’s competition, Norway will be able to field six biathletes in each of the individual events. With all the defending champions and six biathletes in the top 15 overall, Siegfried Mazet’s men are taking advantage of the two regulatory points to increase their quota from four to six entries.
Finally, Italy was the other nation that could claim an additional quota following Lisa Vittozzi‘s individual world title in 2024. However, Vittozzi will not be present in Switzerland to take advantage of this nominative place. As a result, the Italians will not be able to compete in five individual events at the World Championships and will have to make do with four places.
The full programme for the 2025 Biathlon World Championships in Lenzerheide 🇨🇭
Wednesday 12 February
- 2.30pm: mixed relay
Friday 14 February
- 3.05pm: women’s 7.5 km sprint
Saturday 15 February
- 3.05pm: Men’s 10km sprint
Sunday 16 February
- 12.05pm: Women’s 10 km pursuit
- 3.05pm: Men’s 12.5 km pursuit
Tuesday 18 February
- 3.05pm: Women’s 15km individual
Wednesday 19 February
- 3.05pm: Men’s 20km individual
Thursday 20 February
- 4.05pm: Mixed singles relay
Saturday 22 February
- 12.05pm: Women’s 4×6 km relay
- 3.05pm: Men’s 4×7.5km relay
Sunday 23 February
- 1.45pm: women’s 12.5km mass-start
- 4.05pm: men’s 15km mass-start
- The full programme for the 2025 World Championships in Lenzerheide
- Thanks to Julia Simon’s one-two finish in Nove Mesto, the French women’s team will have five quotas in the sprint at the 2025 World Championships in Lenzerheide.
