The French women achieved a historic hat-trick during the sprint of the Biathlon World Championships in Nove Mesto (Czech Republic) on Friday, won by Julia Simon in front of her two teammates, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, second, and Lou Jeanmonnot, third. A year after winning gold in the pursuit in Oberhof (Germany), Julia Simon, 27, achieved a flawless performance on the shooting range to fly to a second individual world title.
“It really shows the power of our team.”
And her teammates followed her example, during the 7.5 km sprint, crushing the competition, with an unprecedented 100% French podium. Les Bleues even scored a quadruple with fourth place taken by Sophie Chauveau. Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, second in the World Cup, failed 4.9 seconds behind Simon. Lou Jeanmonnot finished 40.8 seconds behind the winner of the day, just ahead of Sophie Chauveau.
“It’s crazy, I think it shows the power of our team and the incredible work that our team does all year long,” rejoiced Lou Jeanmonnot at the microphone of the Chaîne L’Équipe. The euphoria could continue in the French camp, since the four French women will be in an ideal position on Sunday when they embark on the chase. An event that Julia Simon will approach as her favorite, after winning this discipline at the last World Championships.
She, who was in fourth place in the World Cup before these Worlds, confirms her rise in power after a difficult start to the season. Norwegian Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold once posed a threat to the French, but she ended up collapsing on the second shot, sending three balls off target. The start of these Worlds is absolutely perfect for the French team: two days after an inaugural success during the mixed relay, in which Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Julia Simon took part brilliantly, the French domination seems to be extending. The world championships will continue on Saturday with the men’s sprint, the first competitor of which will start at 5:05 p.m.