Biathlon : a last-minute decision for Océane Michelon
In her first individual race of the biathlon World Cup season, Océane Michelon came very close to winning the first flowers ceremony, which seemed to be in her grasp, in the individual short race in Kontiolahti (Finland) on 4 December.
Since that race, the Frenchwoman has made her way into the places of honour, as she did in the Grand-Bornand stage (Haute-Savoie), where she finished eleventh in the pursuit and eighth in the mass-start. Present in Oberhof (Germany) for the fourth stage of the season, the Savoyard was not in the best of spirits when she arrived in Thuringia.
After falling ill over the festive period, the 22-year-old waited until the very last moment to line up for the inaugural sprint. “The decision to run was taken this morning [Thursday] at 10.30am. There were quite a few discussions,” she told La Chaîne L’Équipe. I think I’ve come down with a bit of flu and the start of the weekend was uncertain.
And yet, the virus she contracted a few days ago didn’ t stop the Frenchwoman from shining on the German slopes. In Dantesque conditions, where her compatriot Paula Botet triumphed for the first time in a World Cup race, the biathlete from Les Bauges took a superb sixth place after an intense effort.
“I had to work hard and I’m pleased with my success behind the rifle”.Océane Michelon at La Chaîne L’Équipe
Océane Michelon shot 9/10 and knew that a good performance would depend on a successful passage through the targets in the day’s race. “What Cyril [Burdet] and I said was that the plan was to work in conditions like these. I wanted to fight with the weapons of the day while working on the shooting range,” she explained. If I wanted to do well, I knew it would be on the shooting range. I had to work hard and I’m pleased with my success behind the rifle.
The native of Chambéry (Savoie) was satisfied to have managed to pull out all the stops to achieve her best career result to date, and will also be in contention for the pursuit scheduled for Saturday: “My legs weren’t really there, so I did what I could. And I’m still happy to have coped with that,” she enthused in the mixed zone.
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