Biathlon: Bresse’s Amandine Mengin discovers the World Cup
On Friday afternoon, it wasn’ t just Camille Bened, an excellent thirteenth at the finish, who was discovering the World Cup in the French clan at the sprint in Oslo-Holmenkollen (Norway). Amandine Mengin, 20, was also competing in her first race in the big leagues.
But events took a completely different turn for the Bressaude, who finished sixty-fourth without qualifying for the pursuit. “I wanted to take part in the pursuit and when you fall four places short of that goal, the only one I had, it’s sad, she explained to Nordic Magazine. I came, I discovered, I learned and I’m still learning by watching all the other races on site!”
With a score of 8/10 in the shooting and an error on each of her passages on the mats, Amandine Mengin could have hoped for better. Except that the level of the World Cup is higher than the one she had previously experienced.
“I’m obviously very disappointed that I wasn’t able to express myself as well as I would have liked on the shooting range. I’m capable of much better on the shooting range! This 8/10 isn’t disgusting (sic), it’s even good, but it’s not enough to take part in a World Cup pursuit”, lamented the Vosges native.
“I’m still very happy to have got this far and to have had such a crazy season”
All the more so as Friday’s sprint was of a very high standard, with a top 60 finish just 1 min 55 seconds behind: “In spite of everything, I really enjoyed this race, the atmosphere was crazy! You feel accompanied all the way down the track, it’s so cool. It’s amazing to experience something like that for my first World Cup start”, she relativises.
More broadly speaking, Amandine Mengin’s assessment of her winter, which began in the anonymity of the national circuit and ended in the fury of the Oslo World Cup finals, is more than positive.
“I’m still very happy to have got this far and to have had such a crazy season. I’m only going to learn from this sprint and keep on learning. I hope it will taste a little less bitter the next time I come back to the World Cup”, she concludes.
- The full programme for the Oslo-Holmenkollen World Cup, the ninth and final stage of the 2024/2025 season
- Oslo-Holmenkollen World Cup: the full programme for the presentation of the crystal globes
- Corinne Niogret: my best memory of… Oslo-Holmenkollen
- Firsts for Camille Bened and Amandine Mengin, the boys’ sevens: the French team selection for the Oslo-Holmenkollen World Cup finals
- “I want to show myself at my best”: how Camille Bened approached her first steps on the World Cup sprint circuit in Oslo-Holmenkollen
- Chloé Bened’s pride after her older sister Camille Bened won the IBU Cup overall and was selected for the World Cup: “She’s our star, our champion, our idol”.
- Amandine Mengin on the eve of her World Cup debut in Oslo-Holmenkollen: “I have no idea why my season has taken such a turn for the worse…”.
- “She’ll remember this season for the rest of her life”: long-time friend and team-mate Maëla Correia talks about Amandine Mengin, who is about to discover the World Cup in Oslo-Holmenkollen.
- “Help them to repeat what they have done so far”: what Cyril Burdet expects from Camille Bened and Amandine Mengin at their first World Cup in Oslo-Holmenkollen.
- “The small sprint globe is up for grabs”: in addition to the overall podium, Emilien Jacquelin will be going for the crystal in Oslo-Holmenkollen.
- Race for the big crystal globe: the sprint in the Oslo-Holmenkollen finals, a decisive stage in Lou Jeanmonnot’s quest
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Johannes Thingnes Boe, king in front of his home crowd, wins the last sprint of his career, Quentin Fillon-Maillet and Emilien Claude in the top 10
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Johannes Thingnes Boe wins the small globe in the sprint, the fourth of his career
- “I felt my left leg shaking…”. how Emilien Jacquelin explains his cracking standing shot in the Oslo-Holmenkollen sprint
- “I’m still very upset”: Eric Perrot angry at the IBU’s decision not to reverse the sprint start list
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: the French men’s team triumphs at the Nations Cup for the first time in its history
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: the photo album of the French men’s team with the Nations Cup crystal globe
- “Very satisfied to finish ninth”: in the sprint of the Oslo-Holmenkollen finals, Emilien Claude scored his fourth individual top 10 of the season.
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Franziska Preuss wins the sprint 2 tenths of a second ahead of Lou Jeanmonnot, Julia Simon fifth
- “15 points for 2 tenths is extremely expensive”: despite a full race, Lou Jeanmonnot lost ground to Franziska Preuss in the quest for the big globe
- “I was very relieved when Lou finished his race”: two tenths worth 15 precious points for Franziska Preuss after the sprint in Oslo-Holmenkollen
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: by winning the sprint just ahead of Lou Jeanmonnot, Franziska Preuss takes a 35-point lead overall
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Franziska Preuss secures the small globe in the sprint, becoming the sixth German woman to win it
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Jeanne Richard edges out Océane Michelon in the battle for the best U23 trophy
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: for the third year running and the sixth time, the French women’s team lift the small globe in the Nations Cup
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: the photo album of the French women’s team with the Nations Cup crystal globe
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Lou Jeanmonnot’s photo album with the crystal globe in the individual race
- “It’s a great feeling to be able to fight for a good place”: Camille Bened, thirteenth in her first World Cup outing at the Oslo-Holmenkollen sprint, is satisfied.
- In the Oslo-Holmenkollen sprint, Amy Baserga, Lena Haecki-Gross and Aita Gasparin achieved a historic result for Switzerland
- “They’re going to have a spectacular race”: the pursuit from Oslo-Holmenkollen, a new duel for the big globe at high altitude between Franziska Preuss and Lou Jeanmonnot
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Sturla Holm Lægreid wins the pursuit ahead of Johannes Thingnes Boe and Quentin Fillon-Maillet
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Sturla Holm Lægreid becomes the seventh Norwegian to win the Crystal Globe
- “I have a lot of respect for him”: Johannes Thingnes Boe pays tribute to Sturla Holm Lægreid, winner of the Crystal Globe for the first time
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: the small globe in the pursuit for Sturla Holm Lægreid, as in 2021
- “I waited as late as possible to get through”: how Quentin Fillon-Maillet beat Tommaso Giacomel to the podium in the pursuit at Oslo-Holmenkollen
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Campbell Wright secures the trophy for best U23
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: the photo album of the French men’s team with the relay crystal globe
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: eighth victory of the winter for Lou Jeanmonnot, who triumphed in the pursuit ahead of Elvira Oeberg and Lena Haecki-Gross.
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Lou Jeanmonnot takes the yellow bib from Franziska Preuss for 5 points before the mass-start to close the winter season
- “I don’t know what happened”: by making three mistakes in the pursuit, Franziska Preuss relinquishes her yellow jersey to Lou Jeanmonnot one race from the end of the season.
- “It’s a dream come true to finish the last race with the yellow jersey on your back”: an all-round winning chase in Oslo-Holmenkollen for Lou Jeanmonnot
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Lou Jeanmonnot secures the small globe in the pursuit, like Sandrine Bailly and Julia Simon before her
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Lou Jeanmonnot’s photo album with the small globe in the pursuit
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: starting with bib 44, Paulina Batovska Fialkova invites herself to the flower ceremony after a huge comeback in the pursuit
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: the photo album of the French women’s team with the relay crystal globe
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: Jeanne Richard takes a big step towards the trophy for best U23 before the final race
- Oslo-Holmenkollen: on the eve of the Boe brothers’ farewell, Canada’s Emma Lunder and Switzerland’s Elisa Gasparin were celebrated
- “There is frustration, but the feeling of pride is stronger”: fifteenth in the pursuit at Oslo-Holmenkollen, Camille Bened was on the podium in the last standing shot.
