Justine Braisaz-Bouchet

Justine Braisaz-Bouchet (born 4 July 1996) is a French biathlete, Olympic champion in the 12.5 km mass start at the 2022 Beijing Games and medalist at the Winter Olympics 2018 and World Championships.

Justine Braisaz-Bouchet
Braisaz-Bouchet in 2018
Personal information
NationalityFrench
Born (1996-07-04) 4 July 1996
Albertville, France
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight58 kg (128 lb)
Professional information
SportBiathlon
ClubLes Saisies
World Cup debut12 December 2014
Olympic Games
Teams2 (2018, 2022)
Medals2 (1 gold)
World Championships
Teams6 (20152021)
Medals4 (0 gold)
World Cup
Seasons8 (2014/15–2021/22)
Individual races172
All races219
Individual victories5
All victories12
Individual podiums14
All podiums42
Discipline titles1:
1 Mass Start (2021–22)
Medal record
Women's biathlon
Representing  France
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2022 Beijing12.5 km mass start
Bronze medal – third place2018 Pyeongchang4 × 6 km relay
World Championships
Silver medal – second place2015 Kontiolahti4 × 6 km relay
Silver medal – second place2016 Oslo4 × 6 km relay
Bronze medal – third place2017 Hochfilzen4 × 6 km relay
Bronze medal – third place2019 Östersund15 km individual

Biography

Justine Braisaz began her biathlon career at the Saisies Sports Club. She quickly moved to the Nordic section to practice cross-country skiing and biathlon. During the 2011/2012 season, in the Cadette U16 category, she won the French Championship of cross-country skiing and the French Championship of Biathlon, thanks to her speed on skis. She moved to Biathlon fully in the following year representing the Junior category (U19).

During the 2012/2013 season, the first year in this category, Justine Braisaz was selected for the 2013 Junior World Championships in Obertilliach, Austria. She finished 46th in the individual race and 71st in the sprint.

The following year, she was promoted to the highest class at the Junior World Championships in Presque Isle (USA). She finished the individual race ranked 29th, 5th place in the sprint, and 15th in pursuit. In the relay, she placed 6th with partners Coline Varcin and Chloé Chevalier.

In the same year (2012/2013), she participated in the European Championships held in Nové Město, Czech Republic. She ranked 12th in the individual race, 18th in the sprint, 14th in the pursuit, and 8th in the mixed relay with Chloé Chevalier, Dany Chavoutier, and Clément Dumont. At the French Championships held in Prémanon in December 2013, she won two French Champion titles (Sprint and Pursuit). In March, she climbed into second place in the Mass Start behind Julie Cardon during the French Biathlon Championships. Her progress was of such a magnitude that she managed to earn her place to compete with the best French biathletes in the summer events of the Biathlon Summer Tour.

For the 2014/2015 season, she joined the French Youth / Junior Biathlon Team. In the first stage of the 2014/2015 season of the IBU Cup in Beitostølen, Norway, Justine Braisaz took her first podium finish with a second place in the second sprint. The day before, she finished 10th in the sprint event. This was her first international podium, and as a result, she was selected for the Biathlon World Cup.

Justine Braisaz made her Biathlon World Cup debut on 12 December 2014 in Hochfilzen (2014/2015 season), Norway. She ranked 17th in the sprint, becoming the youngest athlete in the world's top 20. The next day she placed 9th in the relay with her French teammates; Marine Bolliet, Enora Latuillière, and Anaïs Bescond. A week later, she improved her best performance by finishing 14th in the Pokljuka sprint and qualifying for the Mass Start with the top 30 biathletes. She set a new record by becoming the youngest athlete lined up on a Mass Start at only 18 years and 5 months.

She earned her first podium in her World Cup career in Oberhof, Germany, by achieving second place in the women's relay on 7 January 2015 with her teammates; Marine Bolliet, Marie Dorin-Habert and Anaïs Bescond. On 13 March 2015, at the 2015 World Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland, she won her first medal, silver, for the women's 4 x 6 km relay with Anaïs Bescond, Enora Latuillière and Marie Dorin-Habert. At the French Biathlon Championships in La Féclaz, she won the relay title with Julia Simon and Marine Bolliet. The following year, at the world championships in Oslo, Norway, she won another silver medal in the same event with Anaïs Bescond, Anaïs Chevalier, and Marie Dorin-Habert. She also achieved her best individual result when she finished 12th place in the Mass Start Competition. A week later, at the final round of the IBU World Cup season in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, she earned her first top 10 result with a 4th-place finish in the sprint event. She finished the season with a 10th-place finish in the pursuit event, which allowed her to finish her second world cup season in the 21st position overall.

At the 2016 Biathlon Championships in Méribel, France, she earned the title of French Champion by winning the Mass Start even in the U21 category. During the preseason 2016–2017, she won the sprint at the Norwegian Championships in Sjusjøen, Norway, ahead of Norway's Tiril Eckhoff and Ukraine's Julia Dzhyma. She won her first individual World Cup podium on 9 December 2016, at the Pokljuka (Slovenia) sprint, the second event of the World Cup, finishing second by 3 seconds behind Germany's Laura Dahlmeier: she was only 20 years old.

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.[1]

Olympic Games

2 medals (1 gold, 1 bronze)

Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass start Relay Mixed relay
South Korea 2018 Pyeongchang 55th 10th 34th 20th Bronze  
China 2022 Beijing 40th 48th DNS Gold 6th  

World Championships

4 medals (2 silver, 2 bronze)

Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass start Relay Mixed relay Single mixed relay
Finland 2015 Kontiolahti 34th 34th 35th Silver
Norway 2016 Oslo Holmenkollen 16th 25th 22nd 12th Silver
Austria 2017 Hochfilzen 48th 28th 5th 28th Bronze
Sweden 2019 Östersund Bronze 60th DNS 15th 8th
Italy 2020 Antholz-Anterselva 19th 32nd 37th 22nd 14th 7th
Slovenia 2021 Pokljuka 63rd 25th 30th 28th
*During Olympic seasons, competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.
**The single mixed relay was added as an event in 2019.

Junior/Youth World Championships

Event Class Individual Sprint Pursuit Relay
Austria 2013 Obertilliach Youth 46th 71st
United States 2014 Presque Isle Junior 29th 5th 15th 6th

World Cup

World Cup rankings
Season Overall Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass start
Races Points Position Races Points Position Races Points Position Races Points Position Races Points Position
2014–1513/2511451st2/3861st8/108539th2/71757th1/5451st
2015–1621/2537221st3/34024th9/916817th7/812321st2/54131st
2016–1725/267066th3/36315th9/92815th8/92506th5/511215th
2017–1815/2241917th1/23420th6/816313th5/713313th3/58920th
2018–1924/2535226th3/36115th9/911827th7/87336th5/510019th
2019–2021/215479th3/31123rd8/816612th5/51379th5/51369th
2020–2126/2651115th3/3--10/1020913th8/816315th5/511312th
2021–225818th636th20612th15316th1621st
2022–23(did not compete due to pregnancy)

Individual victories

5 victories (2 In, 3 MS); victories at Winter Olympics are not counted as World Cup victories, but are listed here.

No.SeasonDateLocationDisciplineLevel
12017–18 17 December 2017France Le Grand-Bornand12.5 km Mass StartBiathlon World Cup
22019–20 5 December 2019Sweden Östersund15 km IndividualBiathlon World Cup
32021–22 21 January 2022Italy Antholz-Anterselva15 km IndividualBiathlon World Cup
4 18 February 2022China Beijing12.5 km Mass StartWinter Olympic Games
5 20 March 2022Norway Oslo Holmenkollen12.5 km Mass StartBiathlon World Cup

Relay victories

Simon / Bescond / Aymonier / Braisaz finishing 3rd at Oberhof on 11th January 2020

7 victories

No. Season Date Location Discipline Level Team
12015–16 24 January 2016Italy Antholz-AnterselvaRelayBiathlon World Cup Braisaz / Bescond / Chevalier / Dorin Habert
22017–18 7 January 2018Germany OberhofRelayBiathlon World Cup Bescond / Chevalier / Aymonier / Braisaz
32018–19 2 December 2018Slovenia PokljukaMixed RelayBiathlon World Cup Bescond / Braisaz / Fourcade / Desthieux
4 19 January 2019Germany RuhpoldingRelayBiathlon World Cup Simon / Bescond / Braisaz / Chevalier
52019–20 25 January 2020Slovenia PokljukaMixed RelayBiathlon World Cup Fillon Maillet / Desthieux / Braisaz / Simon
62021–22 5 December 2021Sweden ÖstersundRelayBiathlon World Cup Bescond / Chevalier / Simon / Braisaz
7 14 January 2022Germany RuhpoldingRelayBiathlon World Cup Chevalier / C.Chevalier / Braisaz / Simon

Personal life

In 2020, Braisaz married her coach and biathlete, Julien Bouchet.

References

  1. "Justine Braisaz". International Biathlon Union. Archived from the original on 24 March 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
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