It was the last biathlon race for women in these Beijing Olympics. And the least we can say is that it did not disappoint us! While everything looked like a healthy outing for the Norwegians Eckhoff and Roiseland, who started well in the lead at mid-race, great gusts of wind on the third shot, the first standing, reshuffled all the cards, in favor of Frenchwoman Justine Braisaz-Bouchet.
Very fit on skis, the Frenchwoman from Albertville withstood the wind to pull off an incredible 5/5 which allowed her to come out on top of the shooting range and not let go of anything until the end. Her last shot, a 4/5 in difficult conditions, was very solid and allowed her to largely consolidate her lead while behind her, the faults of Oeberg, Roiseland or Eckhoff were added.
Sixteen years following the first individual Olympic title for France in women, that of Florence Baverel-Robert in the sprint in Turin, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet therefore won gold in the mass-start. It is the 14th French medal in these Olympics, the 5th in gold.
