The French Justine Braisaz-Bouchet is perhaps the biggest surprise of the biathlon season so far. After her one-year break, the Olympic champion is making a big impression this winter. A coach can hardly believe what he is seeing from the 27-year-old.
In Östersund, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet still had to shake off the competition rust after her one-year break to have a baby. But already in Hochfilzen the Frenchwoman made people sit up and take notice with third and eighth places in the sprint and pursuit.
In Lenzerheide she achieved one of the very rare triples: The 27-year-old secured victory in all three individual races and thus stormed to the top of the overall standings. An outstanding success that hardly anyone expected her to achieve in this form.
Former biathlete and current coach Thierry Dusserre is correspondingly enthusiastic about his compatriot’s performances. Dusserre wrote in his “Le Dauphiné” column that he was not surprised by the high density of the French women’s team. “But on the other hand, Justine Braisaz’s level is just crazy,” he enthused.
Biathlon Olympic champion “sees things differently now”
“She has always been a good runner, but now shooting is no longer a weak point,” analyzed the coach.
This new strength of the Frenchwoman is not yet reflected in the season’s statistics, but this is primarily due to her mixed performance in Östersund, where she only hit the target with 39 of 50 shots in three individual races.
In Lenzerheide, however, Braisaz-Bouchet scored on 47 of 50 attempts. She also ranks third in the running statistics. Only former cross-country skier Anamarija Lampic and the Swede Elvira Öberg are better on average on the cross-country ski trail.
“Your return from the maternity break shows that the step back is possible,” wrote Dusserre, who speaks of a new composure in Braisaz-Bouchet. “She sees things now [als Mutter] different,” explained the former biathlete.