Julia Simon’s journey to the top of the Olympic podium was not without controversy.
The French biathlon star’s two gold medal performances at the Milan Cortina Games come just months after she was found guilty of theft and credit card fraud and handed a three-month suspended prison sentence by a French court in October.
Simon was accused of repeatedly using the bank card of French teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and a French team staff member to make online purchases of more than 2,000 euros ($2,300). She admitted the thefts and offered apologies to the victims.
The conviction left Simon’s status for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in the balance.
But a month later, the French ski federation announced sanctions against Simon, handing her a six-month ban, with five months suspended, allowing her to compete on the sport’s biggest stage. The federation also handed her a 30,000 euros ($34,600) fine that it said would be used to support the training of young biathletes.
“I can’t explain it. I don’t remember doing it. I can’t make sense of it,” Simon said during her trial.
Simon entered Milan Cortina with 10 world titles and an Olympic silver medal in the mixed relay at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, and she has added to her hardware collection in Italy.
The 29-year-old anchored France in its mixed relay triumph on Sunday, and she followed that up with a second gold medal performance in the 15km individual event on Wednesday, shushing the crowd after crossing the finish line.
French teammate Lou Jeanmonnot took silver in the 15km individual, while Bulgaria’s Lora Hristova earned bronze.
Braisaz-Bouchet also competed in the event and placed 80th.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
0 Comments