Biathlon: like Léonie Jeannier, Violette Bony goes to Savoie
For 21-year-oldViolette Bony from Haut-Savoie, the start of spring was a time for reflection. Not that the Annécian was thinking about the possibility of putting the rifle back in the cupboard, but rather to decide on her training group. After several summers with the Haute-Savoie Nordic Team, she decided a year ago to head for Bessans (Savoie) to join Team ENB.
This time, the change is even more radical, with Violette Bony joining the ranks of the Savoie ski committee as a member of the Savoie Nordique team coached by Franck Perrot.
“It’s not a decision I made in a flash, she tells Nordic Magazine. I put a lot of thought into it with my parents, my brother, Emilien Personnaz [her coach at Team ENB, editor’s note] and my girlfriends? It took a lot of thought, but I’m glad I’ve made my decision!”
“Equipe Savoie Nordique is more in line with my expectations”
It was after a discussion with her former coach that Violette Bony made up her mind. “Emilien Personnaz told me that it would be better for me to join this team where the level is higher [than at Team ENB], she confides. Equipe Savoie Nordique is more in line with my expectations.”
“It’s ideal for me to continue to progress and achieve my goals,” she continues. In other words, to be selected for the IBU Cup and to perform well there. “With Team ENB, things had already been going well despite some anaemia, continues Violette Bony. Now, with the whole group at the same level, we can all make progress by each contributing our bit to the edifice.”
“The reds were always our opponents and now I’m going to find myself in a red suit, so it’s going to feel a bit strange”
It has to be said that the Savoyard squad will be of a very high standard, with Fany Bertrand, Léonie Jeannier, Eva Laine, Thémice Fontaine and Camille Coupé all playing alongside her. It’s like a second France team without a name.
“That’s kind of our coach’s objective, admits the woman who won a Junior Cup sprint last winter. With the level we’ve got, I think you could say it’s a second federal team. I’m really looking forward to doing the training sessions together and discovering what’s new!”
To do so, however, she had to make a sacrifice: leave her club and her long-standing committee and move to Savoie.
“It hurts me a bit to leave the Dragons d’Annecy, where I learned the basics of Nordic skiing with Alex Demange, and the Mont-Blanc committee. What’s more, the reds were always our opponents and now I’m going to find myself in a red suit, so it’s going to feel a bit strange,” finishes Violette Bony with a burst of laughter.
- “I’m on the right track”: two years after winning a gold medal at the EYOWF and overcoming some difficulties, Violette Bony is ready to return to the top.
- Ridnaun-Val Ridanna Junior Cup: Violette Bony wins the sprint, Amandine Mengin third
- Peisey-Nancroix: sprint for Léonie Jeannier, Violette Bony French U22 champion, Léna Moretti U19 champion
- Autrans: the Dragons d’Annecy club, with Line Perrillat, Guillemette Baisle and Violette Bony, French women’s division 2 champions
- “I often saw others doing it, but I never thought it could be me”: Violette Bony looks back on her winter marked by Junior Cup success
- “It’s a tough choice, but I like it”: Léonie Jeannier explains her decision to leave the Massif jurassien to join the Savoie committee
