Biathlon: Les Bleus can do very well in Lenzerheide
In the first eight races of the biathlon world championships in Lenzerheide (Switzerland), held since 12 February, the French team has put on a real show. No fewer than ten medals – five gold, five bronze – have been won by Les Bleus.
“These are crazy World Championships for the French team, enthused Julia Simon on La Chaîne L’Equipe on Thursday afternoon after winning the mixed single relay with Quentin Fillon-Maillet. It’s fantastic! Last year, we said we’d had an incredible World Championships, that it was great, and this year, we’re on the right pace too. It’s almost even better because we’re also seeing the boys’ team perform well. It’s unbelievable that we’re all racing really well together, we’re in a great dynamic!”
It has to be said that with four events to go, the French are in the running to break a whole host of records. First, there’s the number of medals. In its history, the French team has never won more than thirteen; that was last year in Nove Mesto (Czech Republic). The absolute record is fourteen medals, held by Norway since Pokljuka 2021.
Three titles away from equalling Norway’s record from 2013
Secondly, the records for titles won are also in the sights of the French clan. With five gold medals won so far, the French are just one title short of equalling the all-time records set at Nove Mesto 2024 and Oslo-Holmenkollen 2016. The all-time record stands at eight titles, held by Norway (Nove Mesto 2013).
Furthermore, if France, which has so far achieved a perfect record, were to win at least one medal in each of the remaining races, it would be a magnificent, historic and improbable grand slam.
Finally, top spot in the medals table, already almost assured, would allow Les Bleus to take pride of place in world biathlon for the fifth time after 1995, 2015, 2016 and 2024.
The full medal table after eight of the twelve events
| # | Country | 🥇 | 🥈 | 🥉 | Total | |
| 1 | France 🇫🇷 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 10 | |
| 2 | Norway 🇳🇴 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 3 | Germany 🇩🇪 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| 4 | United States 🇺🇸 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| 4 | Sweden 🇸🇪 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| 6 | Czech Republic 🇨🇿 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 6 | Italy 🇮🇹 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 8 | Finland 🇫🇮 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
- 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
- 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.
- “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: Justine Braisaz-Bouchet’s day of glory, crowned world sprint champion ahead of Franziska Preuss and Suvi Minkkinen
- “The wheel turns”: how Justine Braisaz-Bouchet became world sprint champion in Lenzerheide after a difficult January
- “I’m very proud”: Maya Cloetens tells Nordic Magazine how she made Belgian biathlon history by finishing eighth in the sprint at the World Championships in Lenzerheide.
- Lenzerheide: Johannes Thingnes Boe crushes the sprint to win a fourth world gold medal in the speciality, Quentin Fillon-Maillet with a tan
- Lenzerheide: Johannes Thingnes Boe wins the sprint to become the most gold medal-winning biathlete in the history of the World Championships
- “Winning a first medal feels great”: bronze in the Lenzerheide sprint, Quentin Fillon-Maillet kicks off his World Championships in style
- 65th in the Lenzerheide sprint, Gaia Brunello achieved Brazil’s best result at the Worlds: “A dream come true”.
- Lenzerheide: untouchable at 20/20, Franziska Preuss wins the world pursuit title, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet takes bronze
- “I was three metres too short”. Justine Braisaz-Bouchet was close to silver in the pursuit at the world championships in Lenzerheide.
- Lenzerheide: Johannes Thingnes Boe pursuit world champion ahead of the astonishing Campbell Wright, Eric Perrot in bronze
- The greatest of all time: gold in the pursuit at Lenzerheide, Johannes Thingnes Boe is the most successful individual biathlete in history
- Lenzerheide: Eric Perrot, the eleventh French medallist in an individual World Championship race
- “I had to fill it up and I filled it up”: how Eric Perrot climbed twelve places to win bronze in the pursuit at the World Championships in Lenzerheide
- Lenzerheide: what do they say about Campbell Wright’s exploits in New Zealand?
- “He had to change his shooting line because of a mistake by another biathlete”: why did the jury reclassify Jakov Fak in sixth place in the pursuit at the World Championships in Lenzerheide?
- Franco-British Chloé Dupont, currently competing in the World Championships in Lenzerheide: “It’s very motivating”.
- Lenzerheide: Marie Dorin-Habert reviews the first week of the World Championships
- Five medals in five races, including two golds: Les Bleus get off to a flying start at the world championships in Lenzerheide
- Lenzerheide: Julia Simon crowned individual world champion, bronze for Lou Jeanmonnot
- Lenzerheide: Julia Simon, the fourth French individual world champion
- “Nothing could take me out of my race”: how Julia Simon became individual world champion for the first time in Lenzerheide
- “I didn’t take it well when I missed on the first shot”: after a difficult start to her individual competition in Lenzerheide, Lou Jeanmonnot bounced back to win bronze at the World Championships.
- “I’m speechless”: a fantastic second in the individual World Championships, Ella Halvarsson makes Sweden shine in Lenzerheide
- Seven medals, three of them gold: halfway through the World Championships in Lenzerheide, France is on course to beat the Nove Mesto 2024 record.
- Lenzerheide: Peiserot Eric Perrot becomes individual world champion, bronze for Quentin Fillon-Maillet
- Lenzerheide: Eric Perrot becomes the fifth French individual gold medallist at the World Championships
- “What an honour to be able to follow in the footsteps of great champions”: at 23, Eric Perrot is crowned individual world champion
- “He’s a great man, and that’s going to continue”: Simon Fourcade’s joy after Eric Perrot won the world title in the individual event in Lenzerheide
- “Strong impression”, “What a race”, “Far superior performance”: Eric Perrot’s first world title as seen by the international press
- The pride of Cyril Cleyrat, Eric Perrot’s first coach at the Peisey-Vallandry club, after his protégé’s individual world title: “Tears came to my eyes”.
- “A model of control and management”: Yvon Mougel, France’s leading biathlon world medallist, pays tribute to the new individual world champion Eric Perrot
- “My body was physiologically two years late”: when Eric Perrot, freshly crowned individual world champion, was finishing last in the national races…
- Lenzerheide: new individual world champion, Eric Perrot has his hair shorn on the podium
- “It’s a wonderful feeling”: in Lenzerheide, Tommaso Giacomel won his first ever individual world medal
- “I would have signed up at the start of the Worlds for results like these”: even without a gold medal, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, twice tanned, is smiling again.
- “I’m terribly disappointed by my last shot”: Michal Krcmar, close to a medal in the individual event at the Lenzerheide World Championships.
- Lenzerheide: Quentin Fillon-Maillet and Julia Simon world champions in the mixed singles relay
- Lenzerheide: Julia Simon, with nine gold medals, becomes the fourth most successful biathlete in the history of the World Championships
- Lenzerheide: with 19 world medals, Quentin Fillon-Maillet overtakes Raphaël Poirée and is now second only to Martin Fourcade
- “Crazy World Championships for the French team”: Julia Simon and Quentin Fillon-Maillet, winners of the mixed singles relay, continue Les Bleus’ crazy fortnight in Lenzerheide
- “It’s incomprehensible that she can shoot so fast”: Julia Simon impressed in the mixed singles relay at the World Championships in Lenzerheide
- Lenzerheide: despite picking up 15 pins, Ragnhild Femsteinevik and Johannes Thingnes Boe pulled off a fantastic comeback in the mixed singles relay at the World Championships
- Franziska Preuss and Justus Strelow had to settle for bronze in the mixed relay at the Worlds after being beaten to the line by Norway.
- A fall in the finish area, fans from far and wide, and the goal validated: Sondre and Ukaleq Slettemark tell Nordic Magazine about Greenland’s first-ever mixed singles relay at the World Championships.
- Lenzerheide: after Eric Perrot won the world title, Les Bleus’ physio also shaved his head
