the Blues in bronze in the mixed relay of the World Championships

The France team ranked third, behind Norway (1D) and Italy (2e), Wednesday, February 8, during the mixed relay, opening event of the Biathlon World Championships, in Oberhof, Germany.

The tricolor relay, Olympic vice-champion of the exercise in 2022, was composed, in order of appearance, of Julia Simon, Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet, Emilien Jacquelin and Quentin Fillon Maillet. “Only the medals count, so we’re happy. (…) The girls did a great job reacted Emilien Jacquelin at the microphone of the L’Équipe channel. None of the four torchbearers has anything to regret. »

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In charge of launching the Blues, Julia Simon, current leader of the World Cup, made an almost perfect start to the race, with a single error in the lying shot, then a faultless shot in the standing shot. Behind, the Norwegians, initially led by Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, scared themselves by conceding almost a minute to the French after a second completely missed shot, which forced her to go through the penalty ring once ( 150 meters).

Imperial Johannes Boe on skis

Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet, second relay runner, signed the same shooting performance as her teammate with only one missed shot on the lying and standing shot. But Emilien Jacquelin, at fault four times with a weapon in hand, saw Norway come back and regain the lead after an excellent stint from Sturla Holm Lægreid, impeccable in shooting. Constant, the Italians remained in ambush at the outposts.

Last torchbearers, Quentin Fillon Maillet and Johannes Boe (Norway), seven Olympic titles between them, were clumsy on the first lying shot, with three errors each, allowing Tommaso Giacomel (Italy) to escape for a time. Dominant on skis, the Norwegian compensated for his nervousness in front of the target and easily returned to the Transalpine before letting go, to offer Norway its fourth world title in a row in the mixed relay. Johannes Boe, the big star of the discipline, also recorded his fifth victory in five stints this winter.

Read also: Biathlon: the French team wins a mixed World Cup relay in Slovenia

For the French, winners of the mixed relay of the World Cup in Pokljuka (Slovenia) at the beginning of January – in the absence of the best Norwegians – this bronze medal is encouraging. The Tricolores had not brought back a medal on a mixed relay of the World Championships since 2017. Friday, February 10, the individual events begin with the ladies’ sprint (7.5 kilometers). The men will explain themselves from Saturday, also during a sprint (10 kilometers).

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