Biathlon: Justine Braisaz-Bouchet offers an extra place for Les Bleues… at the 2025 World Championships
On Friday afternoon, Savoyard Justine Braisaz-Bouchet gave herself a personal treat by becoming world sprint champion in Lenzerheide (Switzerland), in front of her husband and daughter Côme. While this success gave her a fourth gold medal in the world, her second individual one, it was also excellent news for the impressive French women’s team.
In fact, in accordance with point 12.6.1.1.1.c) of the IBU’s rules for events and competitions, this world title automatically gives her a nominative quota for the sprint at the next biathlon world championships.
So, two years before the 2027 Worlds in Otepää (Estonia), we already know that Les Bleues will be able to take part in this five-a-side sprint (instead of the usual quota of four set for this competition).
This additional quota may never be used
However, there is still a great deal of uncertainty as to whether Justine Braisaz-Bouchet’s career will continue beyond 2026.
“I’ll take stock after the 2026 Olympics, and the family will make the decision, the reigning Olympic mass-start champion told Nordic Magazine at the start of the winter. She has to want to go through all that. I don’t want to talk about sacrifices, but everything revolves around biathlon and, at some point, you have to be aware of that. So everything will depend on my family’s energy, my own, my motivation and what I can achieve between now and the Games. It’s obvious that I’m looking ahead to 2026, that’s my big goal for the next two years.”
As this additional quota is reserved exclusively for La Beaufortaine, her decision will be closely monitored by the French staff. If it is not granted, at the start of the 2026/2027 season, Les Bleues would have to place five girls in the top 15 of the overall World Cup rankings to secure a fifth place.
- 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
- Lenzerheide: Justine Braisaz-Bouchet’s photo album with her gold medal in the sprint at the World Championships
