Biathlon: silver and crystal for Anaëlle Bondoux in Östersund
On Monday afternoon, in the terrible gusts of wind that swept across the tracks and shooting range of the biathlon stadium in Östersund (Sweden), Anaëlle Bondoux from Grenoble shone. In the mass-start 60 of the 2025 Junior World Championships, the 20-year-old from Grenoble won her first individual medal in the competition, taking silver behind Sara Andersson.
Anaëlle Bondoux had a great race despite the (very) difficult weather conditions, so she was able to put a smile on her face in the middle of a nightmare winter marked by illness and injury. A few minutes after the official ceremony, where she received the Junior Cup mass-start globe, the Dauphinoise took time out to tell Nordic Magazine about her day.
“Everything was flying away, there was snow falling, the sky was all black, it really felt like the end of the world.
“First of all, the conditions were very special. We went to make the adjustments and it was a storm! Everything was blowing away, there was snow falling, the sky was all black, it felt like the end of the world. And then, finally, it calmed down a bit.
“Then, at the start, we did two laps of cross-country skiing before the first shot and I quickly felt that, on the skis, it was a continuation of the last few weeks when I’d had quite a few problems between illnesses and the thumb injury. I couldn’t keep up with the best female skiers. As a result, I felt really out of sorts at the start of the race. What’s more, I missed two shots on the first run and I had to come out in around thirtieth place. I didn’t believe in anything at all in this race. Frankly, after the first downhill shot, it was a complete ordeal and it even crossed my mind to stop the race…”.
“In the end, the second dismount allowed me to settle back a little. I settled into the first standing at seventeenth position and, in fact, I saw that there were a lot of faults and I did a full… but I had no idea where I’d come out. So I asked the coach at the side of the piste and when they told me I was third, it really gave me a boost. On the skis, it gave me a bit of energy.
“I got to the last standing shot and I could still hear that it had missed. There was a lot of wind and there were two options: either shoot very quickly so as not to lose time and go and make the rings, or fight and risk losing time and missing the balls. I decided to take all the time I needed to put the balls in… and it took me an extremely long time to drop that last ball, but in the end it paid off. It took me so long to drop it that I told myself I had no right to miss it, because I was losing an incredible amount of time.
“The only thing that mattered to me was to be on the podium, no matter where I finished”.Anaëlle Bondoux at Nordic Magazine
“When I came out second, I could see Sara Anderson in front! Of course I gave it my all, but I wasn’t even thinking about catching her. I was just thinking about making the podium, and I just didn’t want to finish fourth. The only thing that mattered to me was to be on the podium, regardless of where I finished. When I crossed the line, it was very emotional because it’s a relief.
“I came to these World Championships when I didn’t think I’d be here. My preparation was catastrophic. But, in the end, being here, it would have been very hard to leave without a satisfactory race. This mass-start saves my winter a little bit in the sense that I’ve been chasing my form all season. Maybe I’m not in great shape, but I managed to do a really good biathlon and I’m very proud of that. I fought hard behind this rifle and to finish at 18/20 with a 15/15 at the end, I’m really proud of that.
“At the same time, I won the Junior Cup globe in the mass start. I had no idea! It’s only at the last race that you realise you’ve won it, so it’s always pleasing. Two years ago, I won the sprint and pursuit globes in the junior category, so I’ve now added the mass-start globe to my collection.
“It’s symbolic to have these two mass-start globes in my house because it’s the biathlon I love, the one with panache, and it’s the biathlon where you win!Anaëlle Bondoux at Nordic Magazine
“Beyond that, it’s a bit symbolic for me because I won the mass-start globe in the IBU Cup last year. Following on from that, I had an extremely difficult season, with a fall on skis and concussion in October and then various illnesses in December and January. Then in February I tore a ligament in my thumb. It’s been a really difficult season psychologically, the most difficult I’ve ever had. I’ve learnt a lot from it, and it’s going to help me a lot as I prepare for next year.
“To come back to the small globe, it’s symbolic to have these two mass-start globes at home because it’s the biathlon I love, the one with panache, and it’s the biathlon where you win! I think the mass-start is the race that best represents that: it’s all about confrontation, it’s the race of kings, and it’s really my favourite format. Winning a mass-start is all about panache, and that’s what I love about biathlon, the spectacle aspect!
“On Wednesday, to finish the competition, we’ve got a relay that I’m very, very happy to be doing. We’ve got an incredible team and, frankly, I think we can go in with a lot of ambition. We’ve got four very strong elements, four elements who were in the flower ceremony at every race, so all four of us are really looking forward to this relay. We’re going to have to do some great things to get out in front, but we’re more than capable of it. It’s a race that I’m really looking forward to, and one that I hope will bring these World Championships to a magnificent close!
- The full programme for the World Youth and Junior Championships in Östersund
- With Voldiya Galmace-Paulin, Amandine Mengin, Gaëtan Paturel and Anaëlle Bondoux: the French team selection for the 2025 World Youth and Junior Championships in Östersund.
- Östersund: despite a ruptured ulnar collateral ligament in her left thumb, Anaëlle Bondoux will be lining up at the start of the World Junior Championships
- After a difficult start to the season, Antonin Guy has bounced back to secure his place at the World Youth Championships: “It’s like a reward for all the work we’ve put in since mid-January”.
- “We had to fight right to the end to get this ticket”: how Alice Dusserre qualified for the World Youth Championships in Östersund by the skin of her teeth.
- “I’m going there with the desire to take responsibility for my biathlon”: at the Junior Worlds in Östersund, Corentin Jacob returns to international competition two years after his last selection
- Östersund: Ilona Plechacova individual world youth champion, Lola Bugeaud sixth
- Östersund World Youth Championships: Antonin Guy in individual gold for the second year running, Léo Carlier in bronze
- “A real achievement”, “It feels great”: Antonin Guy and Léo Carlier, gold and bronze medallists in the individual event at the World Youth Championships in Östersund, talk about their race.
- Östersund: Célia Henaff becomes world junior individual champion, silver for Amandine Mengin
- Junior Cup: Bresse’s Amandine Mengin, second in Östersund, wins the individual globe
- Célia Henaff, new world junior individual champion: “A first victory, a first medal, a first 20/20”.
- “I’m really shocked”: Amandine Mengin, silver medallist in the individual event at the Junior Worlds and winner of the small globe, wasn’t expecting this…
- Östersund: Sivert Gerhardsen individual world junior champion, Edgar Geny eighth
- Östersund World Youth Championships: Louise Roguet, Lola Bugeaud, Camille Grataloup-Manissolle and Léo Carlier bronze medallists in the mixed relay won by Norway
- Östersund: despite four penalty laps and a fall, Voldiya Galmace-Paulin, Amandine Mengin, Gaëtan Paturel and Edgar Geny are runners-up in the junior mixed relay.
- “Even with four laps to go, we’re capable of going for a medal”: the words of Voldiya Galmace-Paulin, Amandine Mengin, Gaëtan Paturel and Edgar Geny, silver medallists in the mixed relay at the World Junior Championships.
- Östersund Youth World Championships: Louise Roguet takes silver in the sprint, Norway’s Martine Skog takes gold
- “I tried to be more relaxed in the downhill, doing the opposite of the mixed relay where I was so stressed…”. How Louise Roguet picked up the gauntlet to become runner-up in the world junior sprint championship.
- Östersund: Léo Carlier wins silver in the sprint at the Youth World Championships, Germany’s Lukas Tannheimer takes the title
- “I never thought I’d start the World Championships this way”: three medals in three races in Östersund for Léo Carlier, silver in the sprint
- Östersund Junior World Championships: Amandine Mengin takes bronze in the sprint, the title goes to Austria’s Anna Andexer
- “I didn’t even know there were globes”: three-time medallist at the Junior World Championships in Östersund, Amandine Mengin will be competing for the big Junior Cup globe in the Mass-Start 60.
- Östersund: Norway’s Haavard Tosterud world junior sprint champion, Axel Garnier ninth
- Östersund: Louise Roguet world youth champion in the Mass-Start 60
- “When I cross the line, there’s a lot of joy”: Louise Roguet tells Nordic Magazine how she became World Youth Champion in the Mass-Start 60 in Östersund.
- Östersund Youth Worlds: Léo Carlier crowned world champion in the mass-start 60 ahead of Flavio Guy and Camille Grataloup-Manissolle
- “We couldn’t have imagined it”: Léo Carlier, Flavio Guy and Camille Grataloup-Manissolle talk about their fabulous triple in the mass-start 60 at the Östersund World Youth Championships
- In the wind of Östersund, Anaëlle Bondoux is runner-up in the Junior 60 mass-start, Sara Andersson takes gold on home soil
- Junior Cup: second in Östersund, Anaëlle Bondoux wins the small mass-start globe
- Östersund Junior Worlds: Kasper Kalkenberg golden in the Mass-Start 60, Gaëtan Paturel sixth
