French biathlete Jeanne Richard has made several headlines in recent weeks with her voluntary withdrawal from the Olympic Games. She has now explained why she decided to leave the season highlight.
Although Jeanne Richard has been in the second row of France’s biathlon team in recent weeks, the 23-year-old has been the talk of the town.
Richard was originally called up to the Olympic squad as a reservist, but was withdrawn from the training camp shortly before the start of the Games and ordered to the IBU Cup. She was then supposed to travel to Antholz. Instead of taking in the Olympic atmosphere, she traveled back to France to prepare for the rest of the season.
“Not the Olympic project I had imagined”
Richard justified this step on her LinkedIn profile and wrote about a “strategic decision” that was very difficult for her.
If you go to the Olympics as a reservist, your chances of being deployed are “extremely low,” the 23-year-old wrote. “So I made the difficult decision not to go to Antholz. Of course this decision was hard. The nomination as a reservist remains a form of recognition.”
“But,” Richard continued, “I’m realistic. Experiencing the Games as a second reservist is not the Olympic project I had imagined.” Going to Antholz would have meant: “Traveling, fatigue and less time for good work. My coaches and I chose the option that best suits my goal: to optimize my performance and increase my chances at the end of the season.”
The whole thing is “frustrating” and “emotionally demanding”. But sometimes you don’t achieve performance on the trail, but “through the decisions we make,” said the Frenchwoman, explaining her approach in the last few weeks.
For now, Richard continues in the second-class IBU Cup, which is currently stopping in the USA. Their obvious goal is to earn a nomination for the World Cup final at Oslo’s Holmenkollen through good performances there.
