Biathlon: Amandine Mengin as told by Maëla Correia
Up until the 2024/2025 season, biathletes Maëla Correia and Amandine Mengin were inseparable. Leaders of the Massif des Vosges ski committee with Guillaume Poirot, they trained together throughout the summer before scouring the national circuit in search of the coveted international selections.
So this winter, Amandine Mengin has managed to fulfil that objective, starting in the Junior Cup in December and then enjoying some extraordinary weeks since the start of 2025 , between successes and podium finishes in the IBU Cup, notably at the European Senior Championships, and then the U22 World Championships, which she finished with four medals around her neck.
All these performances have earned the Bressaude a ticket to the World Cup finals being contested this week in Oslo-Holmenkollen (Norway). As she prepares to discover the circuit this Friday, Maëla Correia, her good friend, agreed to tell Nordic Magazine all about Amandine Mengin.
How they met and developed a strong friendship
“We’ve known each other for 10 or 12 years. I came to her club in La Bresse, so we spent all our years at home and then at the club together. We were four, five girls who were great friends! After that, we both took up biathlon, first at 10 metres. I’ll always remember the sessions we used to do in her garage with her dad, they’re such great memories! After that, we switched to the 22 long rifle. We obviously became friends and it all happened really naturally.
“We started at the Pôle Espoir in the Vosges the same year and we trained together all the time. We had the same programme and we became really close, the best of friends. Amandine is really someone I hold close to my heart.
Difficult years before last summer and the creation of the Vosges Elite Ski Team
“Before the Vosges Elite Ski Team, things were a bit complicated. At the Pôle Espoir, we had a coach, and at the post-bac it was Chloé Remy, but it was complicated because she was working at Ze Camp at the same time. She wasn’t available for us all the time. Despite everything, it went really well and it’s a good thing she was there, otherwise we might have stopped biathlon, clearly! It also shaped us.
How she experienced Amandin Mengin’s incredible season
“It’s been a crazy season! I think I was her number 1 fan. Frankly, she really deserves it and couldn’t have imagined doing this… and neither could we! I can still see her at the start of the season in Bessans, stressing about the selections. In the end, she easily got into the Junior Cup, where she did very well, and then went on to the IBU Cup after the French Cup in Prémanon. She went there to enjoy herself and she won! I was so happy for her. Now she’s going to the World Cup and I don’t think she was expecting that either… I’ve really enjoyed her throughout the season. I’m really proud of her!
“I tried to follow all the races, even if I was training I’d get out my phone or ask the coach for an update! As soon as she’d finished a race, I’d send her a message to congratulate or console her, but it was often to congratulate her [laughs]. Every time, she’d tell me it was crazy, that she didn’t understand, but that she was really happy!
Announcement of his World Cup selection for the Oslo-Holmenkollen stage
“Personally, I had no idea that there was a nominative quota for the best woman at the World Junior Championships, so I found out about it on Facebook and sent her a message straight away. She replied quickly, confirming that she was going to the World Cup! I was really shocked, I almost had tears in my eyes. She’s gone from taking zero caps last year in a complicated winter for her to doing everything in just a few months, from the Junior Cup to the IBU Cup to the World Cup. It’s incredible! She’ll remember this season for the rest of her life.
“She’s my idol! When I was 10 we did a bit of recreational skiing together and now we’re serious and she’s going to the World Cup. I admire her and hope that one day I can do the same as her!
“I can’t wait to be in front of the TV for this World Cup! She has nothing to lose or gain. If she does her biathlon, I think she’ll do very well again. I’m behind her all the way! Despite everything, and it’s silly to say it, but there’s a side of me that’s a bit sad because we’ve spent all these years together since we were little and this is the first time we’ve only seen each other two or three times a month. After that, I prefer it because it means it’s all over for her, it’s all for a good cause!
A fighter’s character, a serious and diligent sportswoman
“She’s always there at training, even when the weather’s bad. Amandine is always smiling and laughing, and she’s always motivated! When something goes wrong, she always bounces back. This year, she did a sprint in Prémanon before the Junior Worlds and didn’t have a very good race. She didn’t lose heart and told herself she could do it and showed it at the world championships. When she sets her mind to something, she goes for it 100%”.
“She’s the most serious girl I know. After each session, the first thing she does is fill in her training log. What always shocks me is that she always has 50,000 pages to do her race debriefs [laughs]. She takes everything very seriously and has an impeccable lifestyle… and it works!
A shared memory that stands out in competition: the national relay title won in 2022 with Paula Botet.
“One of my best memories with Amandine was the committee relay at the 2022 French Championships in Prémanon. It was a crazy race. We were outsiders and we didn’t think we’d win at all. I was average, Amandine was strong, but not the best either, like Paula [Botet]. We went into it with our hands in our pockets and no pressure!
“I started first and it went really well with just one pick. I gave the relay around fifth place and then Amandine did a crazy relay to launch Paula first! I was going crazy on the side of the track. She changed quickly and then we went to cheer Paula on! She got through the first dismount even though she was struggling. We had a big lead for the standing. She came out with three, and we were in a panic… but she put the three balls in and we knew she was going to win! We jumped into her arms at the finish. It was too crazy because it had been a long time since the Vosges had won. I have such fond memories of it! It was magical.
- “A radical change”: the Vosges Elite Ski Team, the structure that enabled Amandine Mengin to make lightning progress this summer.
- Top athlete at the Junior World Championships in Östersund, Amandine Mengin wins a quota for the World Cup finals in Oslo-Holmenkollen
- “She’s going back to France to recover from the World Cup and prepare for this event”: Amandine Mengin is set to discover the World Cup in Oslo-Holmenkollen
- Firsts for Camille Bened and Amandine Mengin, the boys’ sevens: the French team selection for the Oslo-Holmenkollen World Cup finals
- Amandine Mengin’s reaction to her selection for the Oslo-Holmenkollen World Cup: “If someone had said that to me at the start of the season, I would have said that the joke wasn’t funny…”.
- “Help them to repeat what they have done so far”: what Cyril Burdet expects from Camille Bened and Amandine Mengin at their first World Cup in Oslo-Holmenkollen.
- Oslo-Holmenkollen World Cup: why Amandine Mengin, the best athlete at the World Juniors, won’t be wearing a distinctive race number
