Biathlon: Les Bleues back to back on the World Championship relay
In the first thirty-one women’s relays contested at the biathlon world championships, the French team never won a gold medal. It wasn’t until February 2024, and the long-awaited triumph in Nove Mesto (Czech Republic) at the thirty-second attempt, that Les Bleues triumphed and won the gold medal.
This victory was a liberation for the French team , putting an end to a very long quest that began in the early 1990s. So, this Saturday lunchtime in Lenzerheide (Switzerland), Lou Jeanmonnot, Océane Michelon, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Julia Simon had the task of achieving an unprecedented double. And on the sun-drenched Roland Arena, once again, the Tricolores had a great race.
Doubiste rider Lou Jeanmonnot took off on the first lap of the first relay. ” I wanted to try and attack on the second lap, but I felt that things weren’t quite ready behind me, even though I wasn’t trying very hard,” she told La Chaîne L’Equipe afterwards in the mixed zone.
On the attack on her skis, but also perfect on her two shots, the Franc-Comtoise handed over to rookie Océane Michelon in the lead with… 32 sec 0 ahead of Norway, 44 sec 2 ahead of Sweden and 1 min 35 sec 1 ahead of Germany, who were in trouble because of a penalty lap by Sophia Schneider.
A biathlon demonstration
In short, this world relay got off to the best possible start for the French. Baujue’s Océane Michelon, competing for the first time in a relay at the world championships, didn ‘t crack in the slightest. With a 5/5 on the dismount, she quickly hit the target once on the standing. ” I woke up with a bit of a lump in my stomach from the first relay at the world championships, but I did my little run and felt good”, she explained after her run.
As the going got tough behind her, she was able to hand over to Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, who won the sprint last week, with a lead of 46.6 seconds over Slovenia’s impressive Anamarija Lampic. The gap had been closed with the stars of the Beaufortains still to make their move.
Fortunately, the second half of the race was nothing more than a formality for France. With a total of four (very small) picks, the job was done brilliantly – Julia Simon was even able to celebrate on her mat by bowing in front of the grandstand – and Les Bleues became double world relay champions.
Although they had not triumphed in the discipline since the Czech title last February, the Tricolores have once again won a world gold medal. Norway(Karoline Knotten, Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, Ragnhild Femsteinevik, Maren Kirkeeide) have silver and Sweden(Anna Magnusson, Ella Halvarsson, Hanna Oeberg, Elvira Oeberg) bronze.
𝑫𝑶𝑼𝑩𝑳𝑬 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑴𝑷𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑵𝑬 𝑫𝑼 𝑴𝑶𝑵𝑫𝑬 !!!
🤩🥇
What a run!!! Without a moment’s hesitation, Les Bleues take gold in the relay at the World Championships in Lenzerheide. 🇨🇭🔥
Lou Jeanmonnot, Océane Michelon, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Julia Simon retain their title… pic.twitter.com/TOvKIarwzz– FFS – Fédération Française de Ski (@FedFranceSki) February 22, 2025
Full results
- The full programme for the World Championships in Lenzerheide, the highlight of the 2024/2025 season
- Léna Arnaud: my best memory of… Lenzerheide
- Swiss biathlete Arnaud Du Pasquier presents the Roland Arena, the Lenzerheide stadium used for the 2025 World Championships
- Delphyne Burlet on the challenges of the Lenzerheide world championships
- Lenzerheide: France, with Julia Simon, Lou Jeanmonnot, Eric Perrot and Emilien Jacquelin, retain their world mixed relay title
- “We couldn’t have got off to a better start than this”: the perfect start for the French team, which won gold in the mixed relay at the world championships in Lenzerheide.
- “It was fun”: during the mixed relay at the World Championships in Lenzerheide, Britain’s Shawna Pendry was surprised to ski with her idol Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold.
- Lenzerheide: Justine Braisaz-Bouchet’s day of glory, crowned world sprint champion ahead of Franziska Preuss and Suvi Minkkinen
- “The wheel turns”: how Justine Braisaz-Bouchet became world sprint champion in Lenzerheide after a difficult January
- “I’m very proud”: Maya Cloetens tells Nordic Magazine how she made Belgian biathlon history by finishing eighth in the sprint at the World Championships in Lenzerheide.
- Lenzerheide: Johannes Thingnes Boe crushes the sprint to win a fourth world gold medal in the discipline, Quentin Fillon-Maillet gets a tan
- Lenzerheide: Johannes Thingnes Boe wins the sprint to become the most gold medal-winning biathlete in the history of the World Championships
- “Winning a first medal feels great”: bronze in the Lenzerheide sprint, Quentin Fillon-Maillet kicks off his World Championships in style
- 65th in the Lenzerheide sprint, Gaia Brunello achieved Brazil’s best result at the Worlds: “A dream come true”.
- Lenzerheide: untouchable at 20/20, Franziska Preuss wins the world pursuit title, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet takes bronze
- “I was three metres too short”. Justine Braisaz-Bouchet was close to silver in the pursuit at the world championships in Lenzerheide.
- Lenzerheide: Johannes Thingnes Boe pursuit world champion ahead of the astonishing Campbell Wright, Eric Perrot in bronze
- The greatest of all time: gold in the pursuit at Lenzerheide, Johannes Thingnes Boe is the most successful individual biathlete in history
- Lenzerheide: Eric Perrot, the eleventh French medallist in an individual World Championship race
- “I had to fill it up and I filled it up”: how Eric Perrot climbed twelve places to win bronze in the pursuit at the World Championships in Lenzerheide
- Lenzerheide: what do they say about Campbell Wright’s exploits in New Zealand?
- “He had to change his shooting line because of a mistake by another biathlete”: why did the jury reclassify Jakov Fak in sixth place in the pursuit at the World Championships in Lenzerheide?
- Franco-British Chloé Dupont, currently competing in the world championships in Lenzerheide: “It’s very motivating”.
- Lenzerheide: Marie Dorin-Habert reviews the first week of the World Championships
- Five medals in five races, including two golds: Les Bleus get off to a flying start at the world championships in Lenzerheide
- Lenzerheide: Julia Simon crowned individual world champion, bronze for Lou Jeanmonnot
- Lenzerheide: Julia Simon, the fourth French individual world champion
- “Nothing could take me out of my race”: how Julia Simon became individual world champion for the first time in Lenzerheide
- “I didn’t take it well when I missed on the first shot”: after a difficult start to her individual competition in Lenzerheide, Lou Jeanmonnot bounced back to win bronze at the World Championships.
- “I’m speechless”: a fantastic second in the individual World Championships, Ella Halvarsson makes Sweden shine in Lenzerheide
- Seven medals, three of them gold: halfway through the World Championships in Lenzerheide, France is on course to beat the Nove Mesto 2024 record.
- Lenzerheide: Peiserot Eric Perrot becomes individual world champion, bronze for Quentin Fillon-Maillet
- Lenzerheide: Eric Perrot becomes the fifth French individual gold medallist at the World Championships
- “What an honour to be able to follow in the footsteps of great champions”: at 23, Eric Perrot is crowned individual world champion
- “He’s a great man, and he’ll continue to be”: Simon Fourcade’s joy after Eric Perrot won the world title in the individual event in Lenzerheide
- “Strong impression”, “What a race”, “Far superior performance”: Eric Perrot’s first world title as seen by the international press
- The pride of Cyril Cleyrat, Eric Perrot’s first coach at the Peisey-Vallandry club, after his protégé’s individual world title: “Tears came to my eyes”.
- “A model of control and management”: Yvon Mougel, France’s leading biathlon world medallist, pays tribute to the new individual world champion Eric Perrot
- “My body was physiologically two years late”: when Eric Perrot, freshly crowned individual world champion, was finishing last in the national races…
- Lenzerheide: new individual world champion, Eric Perrot has his hair shorn on the podium
- “It’s a wonderful feeling”: in Lenzerheide, Tommaso Giacomel won his first ever individual world medal
- “I would have signed up at the start of the Worlds for results like these”: even without a gold medal, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, twice tanned, is smiling again.
- “I’m terribly disappointed by my last shot”: Michal Krcmar, close to a medal in the individual event at the Lenzerheide World Championships.
- Lenzerheide: Quentin Fillon-Maillet and Julia Simon world champions in the mixed singles relay
- Lenzerheide: Julia Simon, with nine gold medals, becomes the fourth most successful biathlete in the history of the World Championships
- Lenzerheide: with 19 world medals, Quentin Fillon-Maillet overtakes Raphaël Poirée and is now second only to Martin Fourcade
- “Crazy World Championships for the French team”: Julia Simon and Quentin Fillon-Maillet, winners of the mixed singles relay, continue Les Bleus’ crazy fortnight in Lenzerheide
- “It’s incomprehensible that she can shoot so fast”: Julia Simon impressed in the mixed singles relay at the World Championships in Lenzerheide
- Lenzerheide: despite picking up 15 pins, Ragnhild Femsteinevik and Johannes Thingnes Boe pulled off a fantastic comeback in the mixed singles relay at the World Championships
- Franziska Preuss and Justus Strelow had to settle for bronze in the mixed relay at the Worlds after being beaten to the line by Norway.
- A fall in the finish area, fans from far and wide, and the goal validated: Sondre and Ukaleq Slettemark tell Nordic Magazine about Greenland’s first-ever mixed singles relay at the World Championships.
- Ten medals, including five golds with four races to go: the records the French team is aiming for over the final weekend of the World Championships in Lenzerheide.
- Emilien Claude in place of Emilien Jacquelin: the tricolour line-up for the men’s relay at the World Championships in Lenzerheide
- “We’re also sending out the message that nothing can be taken for granted”: why the French staff decided to leave Emilien Jacquelin out of the relay at the world championships in Lenzerheide
- Océane Michelon in fourth relay, three defending champions selected: the French line-up for the women’s relay at the World Championships in Lenzerheide
- “It’s the magic potion of the Gauls! Here’s why the French team, favourites this Saturday at the World Championships in Lenzerheide, have been flying high in the men’s relays since the start of the winter.
