Olympic Games 2022: Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, the surprise gold of the mass start

At the start of the race, no one would have bet on her. Too irregular in shooting to seriously consider victory in the women’s mass start at the Beijing Olympics. And then the wind blew in, adding a bit of a lottery to this race bringing together the thirty best biathletes, the queen event of these Games. Friday, February 18 in Zhangjiakou, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet went through the gusts to become, at 25, Olympic champion in mass start, ahead of the Norwegians Tiril Eckhoff and Marte Olsbu Roeiseland. The other French women entered – Julia Simon, Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet and Anaïs Bescond – finished 6th respectively^and19^and and 29^and of the race.

The victory of the Savoyarde, licensed in Les Saisies, was built during the third of the four shots of this race of five loops of 2.5 kilometers. While she was more than a minute behind Eckhoff and Roeiseland, who were respectively going to turn two and three times on the penalty ring, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet released without complex and without error the five balls of her charger . She then emerged in the lead, at the same time as Roeiseland and ahead of a pack of pursuers.

But this season, the Frenchwoman is, with the Swedish Elvira Öberg, the best on skis. During the fourth and last shot, Braisaz-Bouchet, capable of the best as well as the worst behind the rifle, does not ask any questions: 4 out of 5. None of his opponents will do better.

Jean-Paul Giachino and Patrick Favre, the two shooting coaches of the France team, can hug each other: Justine Braisaz-Bouchet is Olympic champion, she will no longer be joined. Jean-Pierre Amat, coach of the Chinese women after more than twenty years with the Habs, and Siegfried Mazet, ex-Blue spent with the Norwegians, approach and warmly congratulate the French technicians.

“I said to myself before the race that it was my second Olympics, no matter what happened, I was just happy to be there and I was very lucky”, declared the Frenchwoman on arrival.

First major international title

This gold medal represents the first major international title for Justine Braisaz-Bouchet. Since her first individual victory in the World Cup, in Grand-Bornand, in December 2017, the biathlete has often had to fight, in the past, her doubts and her emotional fragility on the shooting range. Fortieth in individual and 48^and of the sprint, she had not taken part in the relay or the mixed relay in Beijing. An extra freshness for the race of the queens.

Justine Braisaz-Bouchet’s title saves Les Bleues’ overall performance during these Games. After the silver medal in the mixed relay, only Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet had managed to climb on the Olympic podium (silver in the individual, February 7). Since then, the French went from disappointment to disappointment. During the sprint, on February 11, Anaïs Bescond, finish 9^and, was the best of the tricolor clan, when the others plunged into the depths of the classification. Two days later, Julia Simon, despite an excellent comeback – gaining twenty-one places – could not do better than 8^and during the pursuit. And Les Bleues collapsed during the relayWednesday, only 6^are.

With this new medal, the French biathlon proves once again that it remains the main provider of medals for the French team. The total of six medals obtained in Vancouver is already beaten. And at the time of Justine Braisaz-Bouchet’s triumph, the Blues led by Quentin Fillon Maillet had not yet set off for the men’s mass start.