Biathlon world champion Justine Braisaz-Bouchet said goodbye to the summer break at the French championships with an impressive performance. The 28-year-old won the top-class mass start, even though she had a total of three penalty rounds.
Justine Braisaz-Bouchet was able to rely on her legs once again in the mass start of the French championships on Sunday. The strong double world champion in 2025 prevailed against an elitist field despite three penalty rounds and distanced Julia Simon, Oceane Michelon and Jeanne Richard.
At the finish line, Braisaz-Bouchet ultimately had a head start of 2.5 seconds to the surprise runner-up Voldiya Galmace-Paulin (19), which was only a mistake in the last standing stop. However, this opens the door for Braisaz-Bouchet, which of all people remained in the last shooting for the only time without miss. Third place and bronze went to Simon (four penalty rounds/+19.0 seconds).
Biathlon star makes title-hat trick perfect
For Braisaz-Bouchet it was the third mass start title in the national competitions after 2017 and 2021. However, this was of particular importance, after all, the races took place right on your doorstep in Les Saisies. The participation was therefore a “no-brainer”, as she explained after the race towards “Nordic Magazine”.
“It is rare that you get the chance to run at home in the course of your biathlon career. For me it was the first time that I ran on my back with a rifle in Les Saisies. It didn’t start well for me, but I managed my race on skis well. It was very demanding because we were all tired,” but lucky winner after her last race of the season Protocol.