“I was quiet for three years”
Biathlete makes allegations against her own association
June 14, 2026 – 2:10 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
After Julian Simon’s credit card fraud, the victim makes new allegations. Justine Braisaz-Bouchet takes aim at her own association.
The Frenchwoman Justine Braisaz-Bouchet was one of the longest-serving professionals in the field in the past biathlon season. She has already completed over 300 World Cup starts and celebrated her debut in 2014/15. Recently, it wasn’t just about sporting topics for her. Because she was the victim of credit card fraud by her colleague Julia Simon.
The Olympic champion was found guilty last fall of stealing her compatriot’s credit card and using it to make purchases. Now, for the first time, Braisaz-Bouchet has spoken in detail about what happened to her as a victim. “I was quiet for three years, didn’t say anything. I kept telling myself that the truth would come out. But when the justice system pronounced its verdict, I realized that it didn’t change anything,” she said in an interview with the French “L’Équipe”.
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The biathlete focused her criticism primarily on her own association. Because he only took Simon out of combat for a few weeks. “Normally there are no actions without consequences. You can’t behave recklessly,” emphasized Braisaz-Bouchet and contrasted this attitude with the association’s mini-punishment: “For me that’s impossible. That’s the feeling I had.”
She “felt absolutely unappreciated” and accused a fundamentally wrong approach to the issue: “We always focus on the accused, but never talk about the victims. Society should function differently.” And things should be different within the French biathlon team. Braisaz-Bouchet spoke of “a dysfunctional group” in which she could no longer function. In preparation for the new season, the biathlete is working alone.