French biathlon team: A letter ensures the next thunderstorm

Dhe views in the Pillerseetal could hardly be more magnificent, the biathlon stadium in Hochfilzen shines in the light – and Lisa Theresa Hauser is already cheering before the start from the Austrian front pages. In Tyrol they find all sorts of reasons to ring cowbells because the Tyrolean has a serious chance of winning in her home race. It could all be such a canvas. But on the biathlon horizon, there are thunderstorms lurking.

The French association has long been responsible for capers in the ski hunter’s cosmos: the credit card affair surrounding Julia Simon, the alleged rifle sabotage by Jeanne Richard, the frustration of the French head coach – that’s enough for a dime novel. But as soon as you enter the Hochfilzen stadium on Friday morning, the next malaise flutters around the corner. This time in the firing line is: Martin Fourcade, one of the most successful in his profession when he was active.

An open letter to the 37-year-old accuses him of actively working to bring Russian biathletes back into international racing – just as in other sports there is currently a lot going on in the interests of Russian returnees. The association is behind the document Athletes for Ukraine from Traunstein not far from the Upper Bavarian biathlon location Ruhpolding, the home village of top trainer Wolfgang Pichler. Pichler distributes the paper in Hochfilzen with the criticism of Fourcade and the justification that there are “no neutral athletes in Russia,” “with the exception of perhaps tennis or soccer players.” All other professional athletes are “employed by a Russian state authority – very many in the military.”

The background is that eight Russian biathletes and para-biathletes had previously submitted a request for arbitration. The IBU announced on Friday that it was sticking to suspending the Russian association “and its athletes” and that this decision had been “taken on solid legal grounds”. Fourcade had recently spoken on the subject and was quoted in the Ukrainian media. The authors of the letter to Fourcade apparently assume that he wants to work harder to pardon Russian biathletes. The Athletes for Ukraine paper, signed by first chairman Jens Steinigen, ends with an offer to Fourcade to visit Ukraine and join the club. When asked in Hochfilzen, Fourcade commented himself. He “did not offer to act as a mediator, but rather to establish contact and support a dialogue,” said Fourcade on Friday, “in my role as a member of the IOC Athletes Commission.”

“It’s just brilliant that it worked now,” says Philipp Horn about his podium finish

In terms of sport, Friday in Hochfilzen will be remembered as the day when an Italian-German-French men’s trio outdid the seemingly indomitable Norwegian ski hunter phalanx. Tommaso Giacomel from Italy took victory in the sprint ahead of Eric Perrot (France) and Philipp Horn. In the ten competitions at the start in Östersund, Sweden, the German ski hunters did not manage to achieve a top three result, the Thuringian Horn broke the spell thanks to strong running performance and a 100 percent hit rate. “The first two weeks without a podium in the relays were a bit disappointing,” said Horn at the finish: “It’s just brilliant that it’s worked out now.”

People prefer to comment on sporting successes rather than court cases or internal power struggles. Questions about the sideshows hovered over the women’s sprint later in the afternoon: Was Océane Michelon’s sporting rifle actually manipulated by a teammate? Is it true that Jeanne Richard was caught red-handed by Justine Braisaz-Bouchet? So from the world-class biathlete whose credit card details were stolen by Simon for online purchases? Because of this, Simon was banned from the Östersund competitions by his own association. She was allowed to start again for the first time at the Hochfilzen sprint. But is it that easy?

At the finish, Simon was in 19th place, with one shooting error and four seconds behind Braisaz-Bouchet, who was 15th ahead of his teammate Richard in 16th. And the ten-time world champion, as she usually wears short sleeves, seemed almost relaxed at the finish. She has used the past few weeks to train alone; there is a lot of snow at her home. “I feel confident and sharp,” she said. A guard accompanied Simon in the interview zone. Questions about team chemistry? Taboo. The victory went to the woman who is missing from all the French scandals: Lou Jeanmonnot won ahead of Maren Kirkeeide from Norway and the Swede Anna Magnusson. Vanessa Voigt in seventh and Anna Weidel in eighth showed flawless performances for the German team.

The feuds in the French women’s team have been driving the biathlon world for two years now. And those involved, whatever their roles, are not to be envied. You struggle through a World Cup race, do respectably, and yet the scene always discusses the same questions far away from sport. Relevant questions because top athletes also represent a kind of role model. The French biathlon federation could take the athletes out of the media firing line, for example by calling a press conference, discussing the topic and answering questions as best as possible. The association sees this differently and remains silent. And so the thunder continues to rumble.