It’s Bastille Day in France; the perfect day to catch up with Julia Simon, reflecting on a successful season, her love of relays, Olympic goals, woodworking, and summer fun.

“Four Gold medals…unexpected”

2024/25 was another solid year for 2023 Total Score winner Simon who owns 15 career victories and won four Gold medals at each of the last two IBU World Championships. “It was a good season. I am really happy with it. My main goal was the World Champs; I had four Gold medals. That was unexpected.”

Second place in the Antholz Pursuit and a strong relay anchor leg, buoyed her confidence going into Lenzerheide. “After each race in Antholz, I felt my shape was better and better. After so many years in the World Cup, I knew I would be ready for the most important races of the season. I was confident but did not expect it to be as good as it was.”

“Feel really good on relay days”

WCH Relay, Mixed Relay and Single Mixed victories bumped her career relay podiums to 37. “Relays have been an important part of my career, especially when I was young. Some people feel pressure in relays; I feel pressure but also feel like I have more power. I don’t know why…I built myself as a biathlete in relays and feel really good when it is relay day. It is always special.”

The French veteran’s shooting dipped last season to a respectable 85%, down four points from her career best. “The last two years, there was a lot of expectation from myself, the public, and media. When you get behind the rifle you need to be 100% focused. Last season was a bit difficult; sometimes I felt confident and sometimes the target did not look so good. I don’t know why. I talked a lot with my coach Jean Paul (Giachino) before World Champs. I became calmer on the shooting range and won two Individual races for the first time. I learned a lot…the biggest lesson was that even if I cannot be at my best on skis, I still can shoot clean.”

Main focus, “Olympics, of course”

Her Antholz success bolstered the French star’s confidence for the upcoming OWG. “I like the tracks there. When you go there after two weeks in Germany, you feel the altitude. It is going to be a bit different this year; everyone will be ready for the Olympics and the altitude. The track is very difficult. You always need to push more and more and the shooting range can be tricky. I think I am ready for the Olympics there. It is always a good place; we have a good hotel, good food…For me it still feels like it is a long way to go. In December it will be more real than now.”

Simon’s main focus, “Olympics, of course. It is something you live only every four years. It is my big goal; the main goal of everyone. It is one of my first memories when I was a child. A big goal would be a medal in the Individual and a Gold medal for the French team in the relay.”

Escaping to her Workshop

Dialed in with big goals and training hard, the multi-World Champion escapes from biathlon in her workshop. “Working there helps me to think about something other than biathlon. In biathlon, you are in a bubble, the workshop connects me to real life, keeps me passionate and focused on something else.”

Guitar for Cyril

Simon recently created a guitar for Coach Cyril Burdet. “It took a really long time. It started with a picture on Instagram and thought it might be a nice gift for my coach Cyril, who is a musician. I spent all winter watching videos on YouTube because I know nothing about music; to understand how it works. It was a lot of hours, but a lot of pleasure and fun…and it works very well.”

Summer days

With training in full swing, Simon’s perfect summer day would be “a rest day! A rest day is always a good day. Of course, I would do some woodworking and maybe a barbeque with friends at the end of the day. If it is a training day, I like to wake up early to rollerski or bike, then some rest and a shooting session, training again and at the end of the day, seeing my friends and having a good time!”

Photos: IBU/Chrisitan Manzoni, Nordic Focus, Julia Simon