Biathlon | Léonie Jeannier tells Nordic Magazine about her difficult winter of 2024/2025 marked by illness: “I’ve always tried to do my best, but my body just can’t keep up”

Biathlon: Léonie Jeannier talks to Nordic Magazine

A member of the federal groups for the second season running, Doubs biathlete Léonie Jeannier did not manage to shine as much as she would have liked. Although she took part in two stages of the IBU Cup, including the European championships, the member of Les Verrières / La Cluse was too often stopped by illness.

At the end of April, Léonie Jeannier, currently studying for a Master 1 MEEF to become a teacher, agreed to talk to Nordic Magazine about her difficult winter. Interview.

• Overall, and with a clear head, how would you sum up your season?

The results were clearly below my expectations. Yes, there were some good races, but they were too few and far between and lacked consistency. I feel that I’m capable of doing great things, but I lack continuity because of illness. I fall ill all the time. It’s difficult to put together a solid season and stay present on the international circuits, or even qualify for them.

• You still managed to qualify for two rounds of the IBU Cup in January…

I was ill in November, then I got back to a good level in December, but there were no places available at that time. In January, I was finally able to go to the IBU Cup. In Brezno-Osrblie, the pressure was enormous. I didn’t take it well at that stage because, having been selected, I felt I no longer had the right to make mistakes. It was a very difficult period. Then I went to the European Championships, but I fell ill again… It was really complicated.

• Do you know the reason for your successive illnesses?

I’m trying to make progress on that. That’s the big point to work on this preparation because I’ve had two seasons plagued by that… Four or five illnesses in three months with fever and ten days in bed, that’s not possible. I’m doing some in-depth work to try and find the causes. It’s multi-factorial, so you have to try to work on each of the causes and see what happens. That’s the approach I’m taking.

• In spite of everything, physically, you have shown great promise outside your periods of illness…

Yes, in skiing, I’ve had some really good moments of form, and I felt that I was capable of doing some great things. But those moments were too rare… I often had the impression that my race started the day I fell ill, with an important objective four days later! I’ve always tried to do my best, but my body hasn’t been up to it for the last two years.

• How difficult is it for you to be a French biathlete, given the current density at the highest level?

It’s an omnipresent pressure on a daily basis. During the preparation period, things go well and you don’t really feel it because there are no competitions. But once the winter starts, it becomes very present. I know you can live with that pressure, but that’s not the case for me at the moment.

• At the end of the season, you won the overall classification of the French Cup. It wasn’t your objective at the start of the winter, but does it still cheer you up?

If you’re going to be in the French Cup, you might as well win it, but it’s so far from what I wanted to do this year… I’ll take what there is to take because it’s an experience that will serve me well, I hope, in the future. The level of competition in France is so high that it’s difficult to win on the national circuit.

• This season was also your first as a senior. Was your time in the IBU Cup different from your junior years?

In the last two years as a junior, I projected myself onto the IBU Cup circuit, knowing that I could always bounce back in the Junior Cup. That allowed me to relax a bit. Now, we’re more and more at the crossroads in the seniors, so we have to go for it, with no room for doubt.

• What’s next for you?

I imagine that I won’t be in a federal group any more, so the aim is to draw up plans B and C. I’m full of desires and I’m not stopping at decisions that don’t belong to me. I know that these are things that concern me, but I’m prepared to move forward in any case. So what happens next is still to be decided.

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