It’s a picture worth a thousand words. Sunday, February 12, Julia Simon (26) won her first title of world pursuit champion in the German city of Oberhof (Thuringia). In tears on the finish line, the Savoyard, part 10th, has just completed an anthology race. This exceptional scenario was well worth a collective communion, but, in the German fog, Julia Simon seems isolated. Only her compatriot Sophie Chauveau, 9th in pursuit, gave her her approval. A loneliness that is confirmed in the spring. Since the return to training for the French biathlon team in May, she has been missing.
Absent “for personal reasons”, according to the French Ski Federation (FFS), from the gathering course currently taking place in Prémanon (Jura), Julia Simon is the subject of two complaints for credit card fraud, a source announced. Agence France-Presse (AFP), Wednesday, July 5, confirming information from L’Equipe.
According to the sports daily, one of the two complainants is the reigning Olympic champion of the mass start, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet. The alleged facts date back to the summer of 2022, during a pre-season internship in Norway. During the Blink Festival (in August 2022) – a ski-wheel competition in the Norwegian town of Sandnes – Julia Simon would have used her compatriot’s bank card to make purchases on the Internet, according to Le Dauphiné released. The alleged damages amount to 1,600 euros and around twenty euros respectively, a judicial source told AFP on Wednesday.
“Fabien Saguez, president of the FFS, was brought to seize the national disciplinary commission in the spring for internal facts at the French biathlon team”, replied the Federation in a press release the same day.
Relations with the rest of the France team degraded
The hearing of the independent commission, meeting on June 1, ruled on a stay “pending the decision of the competent criminal body in charge of this case”, continues the FFS. “Neither the investigative body nor the FFS Disciplinary Committee had the means of investigation, in particular technical and IT, to rule on the materiality of certain facts. »
Jean-Michel Raynaud, Julia Simon’s lawyer, clarified that his client disputed the facts. She should “be auditioned by the gendarmerie services” by the end of the summer. The French biathlete faces up to five years in prison and a fine of 375,000 euros. “The case has been latent for quite some time,” he told AFP. She was able to win in this context last season. She’s not going to let herself be destroyed by anyone. »
This internal conflict, kept secret for weeks by the Federation, would have isolated Julia Simon from the rest of the France team, who took up the cause of Justine Braisaz-Bouchet. Absent last season due to maternity, the 27-year-old Frenchwoman is carrying out a series of physical tests in Prémanon with her partners with a view to a return to competition next winter.
The investigation, still in its infancy, could interfere with the preparation of the France team. After Prémanon, it must continue in Lillehammer, Norway, at the end of July, where the Tricolores will complete a nine-day internship. Julia Simon, although lonely, is not banned from Les Bleues and could join the group. A few months after winning the big crystal globe rewarding the athlete who won the World Cup, the French biathlete would thus find her partners on the occasion of the Blink Festival, a year after the facts for which she is accused.
