One month before the start of the season
Biathlon world champion faces ban after credit card affair
Updated 10/28/2025 – 3:14 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The Frenchwoman Julia Simon stole from several teammates and was convicted for it. So far there have been no sporting consequences. That could now change.
The French biathlon world champion Julia Simon is threatened with a ban. According to media reports, the 29-year-old will appear before the independent disciplinary commission of the French Ski Association (FFS) on November 6th. The commission wants to make a decision by November 10th.
Simon is currently preparing for the new season, which starts on November 29th in Östersund (Sweden). Due to her experience and her sporting class, the Frenchwoman is one of the biggest competitors of defending champion Franziska Preuß.
Simon was sentenced last Friday to a three-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 15,000 euros. A few months before the Winter Olympics in Milan, the 29-year-old admitted the allegations of theft and fraud for the first time in the criminal court in Albertville.
The ten-time world champion was accused of using stolen credit card details from her teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (29) and a team physiotherapist to purchase goods worth around 2,500 euros online in December 2021 and August and September 2022. The court found Simon guilty on all charges.
Simon had denied the allegations until her confession, arguing that she herself had been a victim of identity theft. Meanwhile, the 2023 World Cup overall winner, who gave no financial motives for her actions, is said to have had a mid-six-figure sum in her account.
Simon apologized to those affected. She has no rational explanation for her actions and has been working with a therapist for a good three years. She still doesn’t understand her actions. But Simon said in court that she couldn’t imagine doing something like that again.