Biathlon: the divine surprise of Paula Botet
On Thursday 9 January, the Vosges was the scene of biathlon celebrations. A few hours after Amandine Mengin ‘s victory in the IBU Cup, Paula Botet triumphed in the World Cup. Having risen to the top of all the circuits at the start of 2025 following her convincing winter debut in the antechamber, she seemed to have the weapons to rival the world’s stars.
“I think I’m better than the last time I came to the World Cup,” she told La Chaîne L’Equipe before the sprint in Thuringia. It was just that she had to put her money where her mouth was during the competition.
In this sprint, contested in dantesque conditions of fog, rain and fickle wind, the Bressaude produced the perfect passage. Lining up two 5/5s in a row on the shooting range, she was also fast on her cross-country skis, clocking a time in the top 10 (seventh).
At the finish, with her (small) number 37, Paula Botet took the lead. She never relinquished this position and, at the age of 24, won her first ever World Cup race, becoming the thirteenth Frenchwoman to do so.
A podium of rookies
Up until then, her best result was twenty-first place in Oslo-Holmenkollen (Norway) in March 2023. Last winter, moreover, the biathlete from La Bressaude Section Ski had been bothered by shin pain. Having recovered from all these difficulties, she triumphed in the World Cup at the beginning of January.
“I don’t know what to say, she said after the victory in the mixed zone. I felt so bad, I was freezing, I thought I was going to do anything in the last round… I can’t believe it, I’m in shock! It’s improbable, I’m in shock!”
Paula Botet was joined by two other biathletes who also scored their first World Cup podium: Norway’s Maren Kirkeeide (9/10), second at 31 sec 1, and Bulgaria’s Milena Todorova (9/10), third at 35 sec 0.
All French women in the top 12
Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (7/10), in great form on skis, finished in fourth place at 40 secs 3, while Finland’s Suvi Minkkinen (9/10), fifth at 47 secs 8, and Océane Michelon (9/10), sixth at 49 secs 9, rounded off the flower ceremony.
The other three Frenchwomen are in the top 12 with Lou Jeanmonnot in seventh place (8/10), Jeanne Richard in eleventh (8/10) and Julia Simon in twelfth (8/10).
PAULA TO PERFECTION 🤩
Magnificent race from Paula Botet who won the Oberhof Sprint!
A 10/10 behind the rifle on this site, it’s simply brilliant 🎩👏
French demonstration in this race with 6 blues in the TOP 15 🔝🇫🇷
📸 Nordic Focus pic.twitter.com/j0dXah1aEx– FFS – Fédération Française de Ski (@FedFranceSki) January 9, 2025
Full results
- The full programme for the Oberhof World Cup, the fourth stage of the 2024/2025 season
- Corinne Niogret: my best memory of… Oberhof
- Paula Botet to replace Sophie Chauveau: the French selection for the Oberhof World Cup
- “She completely deserves to go up”: why the team staff decided to replace Sophie Chauveau with Paula Botet for the Oberhof World Cup
- “I can’t ski with the athletes”: Simon Fourcade, coach of the French men’s team, ruptures the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee
