A year ago, French biathlon hopeful Canelle Midez decided to leave the Jura massif and join the Savoy Ski Association. Now the 16-year-old has spoken about her first winter in her new home and a special experience with Olympic champion Océane Michelon.
According to Canelle Midez, the decisive factor in her decision to move was the significantly better study conditions in Savoy.
“School has always been important to me, so I asked around where I could go,” the ski hunter commented on her decision to “Nordic Magazine” a long time ago.
Now she drew a first interim conclusion. “It’s even better than I imagined. I expected that my academic performance would be second to sport, but that wasn’t the case in the end. The coaches help us a lot with time management. The ski instructors help us balance both and we manage to balance skiing and school well,” enthused Midez.
The 2025/2026 biathlon season was also a success for the young Frenchwoman in terms of sport: she won two sprint races in Les Saisies and Autrans and took tenth place in the overall ranking of the French U17 Cup.
“The first win felt strange because I didn’t expect it at all. I had my tonsils removed in October and my coach said it was normal for me to have difficulty starting. Ultimately, I was able to put everything I had been working on into practice,” she recalled with joy.
Tips from the biathlon Olympic champion
Midez ended her season at the French Championships in Prémanon with the relay win, two days after finishing seventh in the mass start.
A race like no other, there were two top stars there: Joanne Weiss and, above all, Océane Michelon, the newly crowned Olympic champion in the relay and mass start.
“I still can’t believe it,” Midez admitted: “It’s true, I was nervous and put a little pressure on myself. I had spoken to Océane about this and it was really helpful to discuss with her how I should approach the race and deal with the stress. When I started, I was pretty relaxed and just gave it my best.”
