Biathlon: Hanna Oeberg wins the Ruhpolding sprint ahead of Lou Jeanmonnot
The last twelve women’s sprints contested before the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games will have seen at least one Frenchwoman on the podium. Quite simply, since the first sprint of the 2024/2025 season, Les Bleues have always finished in the top 3 in the benchmark format.
On Friday afternoon, in the cauldron of the Chiemgau Arena in Ruhpolding (Germany), the pressure was on the French in the run-up to this last sprint before the eagerly awaited 2026 Olympic sprint next month. Apprehending the moment at a venue where a 10/10 is mandatory to reach the podium, world number one Lou Jeanmonnot went to see her coach Cyril Burdet in the morning to discuss the matter.
“I was putting myself under a lot of pressure, but it hardly dented my confidence,” she later told La Chaîne L’Equipe. The duo decided to live for the moment rather than plan ahead. It was a state of mind that allowed Lou Jeanmonnot to shine brightly in her red and yellow bib during the race .
With a 10/10 on the mats and a more than solid ski time, including an excellent last lap, the Haut-Doubiste put in a race that would make her a contender for the crystal globe – without overplaying her hand.
In the end, only Sweden’s Hanna Oeberg (10/10), as in Le Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie) last month, beat her to victory by 7.5 seconds.
Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Camille Bened in the top 10
In this tight sprint, it was then Lisa Vittozzi (10/10), in Lucky Luke mode on the shooting range, who completed the podium at 11 sec 7 just ahead of Elvira Oeberg (10/10), Franziska Preuss (10/10) and Suvi Minkkinen (10/10).
The top 10 was completed by Marthe Kraakstad Johansen (10/10), Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (8/10), Maren Kirkeeide (9/10) and Camille Bened (10/10). Further back, Jeanne Richard (9/10) was ranked twenty-fourth, Julia Simon (10/10) twenty-fifth and Océane Michelon (8/10) thirty-second.
Full results
C73B_v0-1- The full programme for the Ruhpolding World Cup, the fifth stage of the 2025/2026 season
- Caroline Colombo: my best memory of… Ruhpolding
- Ruhpolding World Cup: Norway with Johan-Olav Botn, still doubtful, Sturla Holm Lægreid, Juni Arnekleiv and Siri Skar
- Dorothea Wierer and Lisa Vittozzi are back after their stalemate: Italy with eleven for Ruhpolding
- Sophia Schneider and Danilo Riethmueller retained, Philipp Horn still sidelined: the German squad for the World Cup in Ruhpolding
- Ruhpolding: Sweden’s selection for the fifth round of the World Cup
- Lisa Theresa Hauser back from illness, first for Lukas Haslinger: Austria’s selection for the Ruhpolding World Cup
- Emilien Claude replaces Valentin Lejeune, women’s squad unchanged: France’s selection for the Ruhpolding World Cup
- “I’ll be thinking about the Olympics if I get my selection”: after a winter disrupted by illness, Emilien Claude returns to the World Cup in Ruhpolding
- Jeanne Richard, Emilien Claude and Oscar Lombardot in favourable positions for Olympic qualification: lessons from the French selection for Ruhpolding
- Ruhpolding World Cup: Slovakia with Paulina Batovska Fialkova, back from a training camp in Lavazè
- Ruhpolding: Belgium unveils its eight-strong biathlon squad
- Coralie Langel’s second World Cup appearance and Jeremy Finello’s comeback: Switzerland announces its squad for Ruhpolding
- Ruhpolding: Slovenia led by Anamarija Lampic and still without Jakov Fak
- The Czech Republic’s selection for the Ruhpolding World Cup
- Johan-Olav Botn finally withdraws from the Ruhpolding World Cup
- Ruhpolding: no relay for Tommaso Giacomel, rested
- “She’s not feeling 100%”: why isn’t Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold taking part in the Ruhpolding relay?
- Ruhpolding: Norway, led by an immense Maren Kirkeeide, wins the relay ahead of Italy and Sweden, with France fourth
- “There were better than us today”: the scarecrows of the last relay before the 2026 Olympics, how Les Bleues let the podium slip away in Ruhpolding
- “It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever experienced”: with an incredible Maren Kirkeeide, the Norwegians won their first relay since March 2024.
- The top three teams in 3 seconds: the Ruhpolding relay, the closest relay in the history of women’s biathlon
- Ruhpolding: Emilien Jacquelin withdraws from the relay, Oscar Lombardot replaces him
- Ruhpolding: Fabien Claude, Oscar Lombardot, Quentin Fillon-Maillet and Eric Perrot win the relay at the end of the suspense
- “Boy, does that feel good! Les Bleus take a weight off their shoulders after winning the last relay before the 2026 Olympic Games in Ruhpolding
- 30 km out, called up at the last minute, solid and victorious relay: Oscar Lombardot’s crazy day at Ruhpolding
