Who would’ve thought biathlon would be among the most headline-grabbing sports at the Winter Olympics?
For the second day in a row, a medallist in the sport has stolen headlines. After France’s Julia Simon captured gold in the women’s 15 km individual race, media outlets started reporting she had been found guilty of credit card fraud in a scandal involving a teammate just five months ago.
The 29-year-old native of Albertville was found to have used the bank cards of teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and an unnamed French team staff member, having spent more than $3,200 in online purchases. She was given a three-month suspended sentence and fined roughly $24,000 by a French court.
“I can’t explain it. I don’t remember doing it. I can’t make sense of it,” Simon said during her trial, per USA Today.
While Simon’s involvement and conviction in the scandal could’ve thrown her participation in the 2026 Olympics in doubt, the French Skiing Federation found a workaround to keep one of its top medal contenders in action. It issued a fine of $46,000 and structured a suspension in a way that she could continue to compete.
As part of an agreement, Simon was eligible to compete on the World Cup circuit leading up to the Olympics and compete at the Winter Games themselves.
What happened in the competition?
Simon claimed her second gold of these young Olympics on Wednesday, in the 15 km biathlon, posting a time of 41:15.6 while missing just one target.
French teammate Lou Jeanmonnot took the silver in 42:08.7 with two missed targets while Bulgaria’s Lora Hristova followed at 42:20.1 for bronze.
Simon already won gold in the mixed team biathlon event on Sunday along with Jeanmonnot, Eric Perrot and Quentin Fillon Maillet.
Biathlon was in the tabloid spotlight on Tuesday, when Sturla Holm Laegreid — fresh off winning bronze in the men’s 20 km event — broke into tears during a post-race interview and admitted to cheating on his girlfriend.
While speaking to Norwegian broadcaster NRK, Laegreid first thanked everyone who had supported him before making the shocking admission.
“There is something I want to share with someone who may not be watching today,” he said. “Half a year ago I met the love of my life. The world’s most beautiful and nicest person. Three months ago I made the mistake of my life and cheated on her, and I told her about that a week ago. This has been the worst week of my life.
“I had the gold medal in life, and I am sure there are many people who will see things differently, but I only have eyes for her. Sport has come second these last few days. Yes, I wish I could share this with her.”