For Camille Bened, the past biathlon season went like clockwork. Olympic champion in the relay, tenth in the overall World Cup rankings – the Frenchwoman could be satisfied. And yet she still sees a lot of room for improvement.
Although Camille Bened had to undergo shoulder surgery in April 2025, she showed no need to catch up the following winter. On the contrary: at the Winter Olympics she celebrated gold with the French women’s relay team.
In an interview with the newspaper “Dauphiné Libéré”, the 25-year-old took stock. “I took the time to pause and look back. As a competitor, there are moments in which I perhaps could have done even better. But if I’m completely realistic, the season was very good,” emphasized the biathlete.
After her operation, she had “almost three months less preparation time than the other athletes in the World Cup,” explained Bened. As a result, she was “only at about 70 percent” of her actual running ability, but made up for this with her shooting strength.
The reward for their efforts: Bened was recently promoted to the national A squad. “I hope to be well prepared. I’m changing the training group and will now actually train together with the best in the world. I’ll also get a new trainer,” said the ski hunter.
Biathlon ace wants to be “well prepared for the first training camp”
After returning from her vacation in Corsica next Friday, Bened will go straight back into training.
“From this weekend I will get back on the roller skis so that I am well prepared for our first training camp with the team, which starts on June 20th,” announced the Frenchwoman. Then we work in Premanon for a week.
Bened is looking forward to the time: “This is the ideal place to get back into the training rhythm – with all the necessary facilities to check your own pace, as well as a covered shooting range with electronic targets.”