SIMON Julia

Julia Simon moved up to the BMW IBU World Cup circuit full-time in the 2018/19 season, becoming one of the most exciting female competitors, and winning the 2023 World Cup Total Score.

Simon was a very successful junior. winning two IBU YJWCH medals, a Junior European Championship and the IBU Junior Cup. She broke into the sport’s elite with her first-ever BMW IBU World Cup victory in the 2020 Kontiolahti Pursuit, later adding Oberhof and Antholz Mass Start wins, and 2021 IBU WCH Single Mixed Relay Gold.

Improved shooting keyed the Les Saises resident’s spectacular 2022/23 season. Simon opened the season hitting 95 of her first 100 shots, dropping every prone shot until the final competition before the Christmas break. From that point, she retained the Yellow the rest of the season. Under extreme pressure going into the 2023 IBU World Championships, Simon struggled to 10th place in the sprint, but roared back in the pursuit, outshooting Denise Herrmann-Wick in the deciding last standing stage, for her first-ever individual IBU WCH Gold medal. “Just before the last shooting, the coach on the uphill told me I was with Denise and third place was far behind. In my head, I said, ‘It does not matter. I just want to win.”

After Oberhof, Simon cruised through to the World Cup Total Score title, the first French female winner since Sandrine Bailly in 2005, also claiming the Pursuit and Mass Start Scores.

A slow 2023/24 start followed her big season, with her first podium coming in late December. When the calendar flipped to 2024, Simon was again on fire. The female star at the IBU World Championships in Nove Mesto na Morave, won four Gold and one Bronze medal, including the sprint/pursuit double.

2024/25 was another solid year for Simon, finishing third in the Total Score after another slow start to the season. As usual, she was on fire at the IBU World Championships, taking 15 km Individual Gold plus Gold medals in all three relay events.

Simon spends as much of her spare time woodworking and enjoying nature in her mountain home.