Julia Simon is at the forefront in the pursuit of Oberhof until the last shooting. There, however, she pays the price for a “rookie mistake” that ultimately ensures that she only comes fourth.
With third place in the Oberhof sprint, Julia Simon sent a strong signal on Thursday. In the pursuit on Sunday, the Frenchwoman was clearly on course for a podium until the last shooting. But then everything went wrong there.
Simon came to the last standing stage together with the Finn Suvi Minkkinen, in the slipstream of the leading Elvira Öberg. Instead of putting her opponents under pressure, Simon missed the first two targets. After the double penalty loop, in the end we couldn’t do better than fourth place. That annoyed her.
Biathlon star “like a complete beginner”
“I behaved like a complete beginner and I regret a few things,” she said angrily at the “L’Équipe” microphone after the race. All in all, she was happy that she was able to run at the front again, “but the last shooting wasn’t good,” admitted Simon.
What had happened? “I put a lot of effort into the fourth lap because I didn’t want to pull Suvi Minkkinen. I tried to run fast, but I wasn’t fast enough because she was catching up. But I didn’t hear her coming,” said Simon.
Simon blames frustration: “I couldn’t do anything”
She was no longer “in my element” at that moment and that’s why she made the two mistakes at the shooting range. “I shot a bit slowly. It was a beginner’s mistake. I shouldn’t have let myself get so thrown off course and should have concentrated more on myself. That’s a bit frustrating,” said the 29-year-old.
In the duel for third place against Hanna Öberg, she ultimately had nothing left in the tank, Simon continued. “I couldn’t do anything. She was much stronger than me and pulled away with much more speed in the downhill section,” said the Frenchwoman, who nevertheless indicated in Oberhof that she was well on her way to playing a good role at the Olympic Games.