Biathlon: the memory of the Nove Mesto sprint quadruple is still vivid
9 February 2024 was probably the best day in the history of French biathlon at a world championship. On that day, in a sprint held in the half-light of the Vysocina Arena in Nove Mesto (Czech Republic), Julia Simon, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Lou Jeanmonnot and Sophie Chauveau won an unthinkable quadruple.
“It’s sheer madness, exclaimed Stéphane Bouthiaux, head of the French biathlon, speaking to La Chaîne L’Equipe. I’ve seen doubles before, but a quadruple is science fiction. We could never have imagined such a performance, even if we know we have the best women’s team in the world. To do 1, 2, 3, 4 is just incredible. It’s the culmination of a whole team’s work.”
In fact, Cyril Burdet, the women’s team’s fitness coach, said “it’s amazing” , while Jean-Paul Giachino, his shooting colleague, admitted he “didn’t have the words” to describe the moment. ‘We knew we could do it, but achieving it is something else, he added. It’s magical, I don’t even have the words to describe this late afternoon!”
The objective will be the same as a year ago
One year on, Les Bleues are preparing to defend this incredible performance this Friday in the sprint at the World Championships in Lenzerheide (Switzerland).
Although Bornandine Sophie Chauveau, the only non-medallist in the Czech quadruple, is only a substitute this year, the three girls on the podium (Julia Simon, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Lou Jeanmonnot) will be on the track to try and repeat their feat. Jeanne Richard and Océane Michelon, who will be discovering the World Championships on this occasion, will be dreaming of playing at the front with their elders.
Although it’s hard to predict another quadruple in the face of stiff international competition, Les Bleues will all be aiming for the same goal: a place on the podium and, if possible, the top step.
“There are guarantees, thanks to their start to the season, that they will shine. In each of the formats, one of the French girls can win a gold medal. I’d even go so far as to say that a silver or bronze medal wouldn’t be bad, but it would be disappointing if no Frenchwoman was ahead. There’s always a different one who could win, which isn’t the case in all the other nations”, analyses Delphyne Burlet, former world and Olympic relay medallist, for Nordic Magazine.
First individual world title for Lou Jeanmonnot?
Among the French contenders, Lou Jeanmonnot is in a very good position. Winner on six occasions since the start of the winter, she will even be the favourite when she starts her sprint.
“I have confidence in her. She’s a quick learner and you can tell that when she does something that’s not in her protocol and her habits, it hurts her because she’s not out in front. A bit like Julia [Simon], she’s a real competitor. She does everything she can to avoid making the same mistakes again, says Delphyne Burlet. I have a feeling she’s going to be able to do something!”
And why not a world champion’s crown, her first individual crown, two days after winning the mixed relay.
- 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
- Two of the four reigning world champions have been retained: the French mixed relay line-up for Wednesday’s opening round of the World Championships in Lenzerheide.
- “We decided to follow the sporting logic”: Stéphane Bouthiaux explains how the French mixed relay team for the World Championships in Lenzerheide was put together.
- Quentin Fillon-Maillet annoyed at being sidelined in the mixed relay at the world championships in Lenzerheide: “I thought I deserved more consideration from the staff”.
- “We’re aiming for the title”: one year after their triumph in Nove Mesto, France will attempt to make it two in a row in the mixed relay at the World Championships in Lenzerheide.
- Mixed relay in Lenzerheide: the first day on which Johannes Thingnes Boe could become the most successful biathlete in the history of the 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.
- “I don’t feel like I made a mistake”: Julia Simon recounts her collision with Sweden’s Anna Magnusson during the mixed relay in Lenzerheide
- Julia Simon and Sebastian Samuelsson crashed, Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold and Hanna Oeberg failed to shoot: an opening mixed relay full of twists and turns in Lenzerheide
- Lenzerheide: Czech Republic surprise silver medallists in mixed relay
- Lenzerheide: seventh in the mixed relay with Lukas Hofer and Tommaso Giacomel, Italy’s Hannah Auchentaller and Dorothea Wierer battled it out on the difficult Swiss track
- “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: the day after her fall in the mixed relay, Julia Simon did not take part in the day’s official training session
