Biathlon | “We had the ambition to do better”, “I had nothing to play for”: Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Emilien Jacquelin’s reactions after their fourth place in the Pokljuka mixed singles relay

Biathlon: No podium in Pokljuka for Justine Brasiaz-Bouchet and Emilien Jacquelin

At midday on Sunday, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Emilien Jacquelin represented the French team in the mixed singles relay at the Biathlon World Cup in Pokljuka (Slovenia). Lining up together for the very first time in the format, they failed to reach the podium, crossing the finish line in fourth place.

After their race, they stopped off in the mixed zone to talk to Nordic Magazine about their performance of the day.

Justine Braisaz-Bouchet

“I really liked it, I really like this kind of format. It asks me to get out of my comfort zone because the track is short. It’s an intense effort. I don’t know if it’s the one I perform best in. I really like shooting. I felt very concentrated, in my bubble. I had other ambitions about the way I did it, but not everything was good, especially my second dismount, which was really frustrating. We were aiming to do better and 10 picks is far too many to hope to achieve anything.”

“It’s a shot that’s a little more natural and where I let myself go. On shots where there’s something at stake, I’m so keen to do well that I put concrete down. I’m on the visual and I don’t press because I haven’t prepared anything. This format allows me to put all my thoughts aside and focus on a single action. That’s a great benefit to me. You can still learn from one or two shots today, but what I’ve put in place is what I think have always been my shortcomings and weaknesses on the shooting range. It’s much better than yesterday [Saturday’s mass start].”

Emilien Jacquelin

“I think I approached the day’s four shots in the same way, with the same approach. You can’t say that they were bad shots with 4/5 and only one bullet. The work’s done, but maybe we just didn’t get it right. Physically, it’s still hard. I’ve put in a lot of energy, but it’s not paying off. These conditions aren’t really in my favour. I gave it my all and so did Justine [Braisaz-Bouchet].”

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“Even with these snow conditions and my abilities, I still need to manage a last lap. I concentrated on [Justus] Strelow to try and get back on him and then, when Tero [Seppälä] passed, he just had more juice. It’s hard to recreate speed. I didn’t have anything to play for, even though I tried to hold on mentally.”

_{[With Julie and Marie Le Bobinnec, in Pokljuka].}

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