On paper, they’re her fiercest rivals: “When I doubted myself, they gave me immense support,” says the 28-year-old French biathlete about the Norwegian team.

In the ski tracks, they’re competitors and rivals, but now the French biathlon star is publicly praising the Norwegian athletes.

When you’re part of a group that spends a lot of time together, whether in elite sports or other areas of life, it’s crucial to create a good and safe environment for everyone. This is the only way everyone can perform at their best. But in most cases, you don’t get to choose the other members of the group. Sometimes, the best relationships develop with people outside your own group or with those who, on paper, are your competitors.

This is how the French biathlete Julia Simon explains the journey she’s been on over the past couple of years.

The 28-year-old from Albertville was last year’s big talking point, not only because she won the overall World Cup but also due to being accused of misusing a teammate’s and a team staff member’s credit card.

In the latest episode of the Extraterrien podcast, the 28-year-old from Albertville shares about the friendship she has developed with the Norwegian biathletes. She highlights the difficult period in the summer of 2023, when the scandal around the credit card issue was at its worst, and her relationship with Justine Braisaz-Bouchet was at its coldest. At that time, Simon chose to train alone, outside the French national team, but was welcomed by the Norwegian women.

“In the Norwegian team, I found true friendship in a challenging time,” says Simon, elaborating:

“I already had a good relationship with many of them, but under the circumstances, we developed very strong friendships. In times when I doubted myself, they provided me with enormous support, and we built relationships that will last well beyond our time as athletes. There are no specific things I can pinpoint, but feelings and memories that will always stay with me.”

Read more: Tiril Eckhoff: Life after biathlon – Part 1

Friends on and off the track

This summer, Simon was one of the guests at Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold’s wedding and got to stay with her Norwegian rivals in the days before and after the celebration in Nordmarka.

One might wonder how the relationship between these two apparent summer best friends changes when the snow falls, and they compete against each other weekend after weekend.

“Not much,” says Simon, recounting an episode from the sprint at this winter’s World Championship in Nove Mesto.

There, the French star won decisively, while the Norwegian biathletes struggled in difficult artificial snow conditions and bad weather. The best Norwegian finisher was Ida Lien, who came in 30th.

“The (Norwegian girls) had a rough day, and the sprint was a huge disappointment for them. I tried to hold back my own joy in the media, but when I met them (the Norwegians), they completely overwhelmed me with their celebration. It was a beautiful moment, filled with singing and dancing, tears and joy. It was those girls who made me realize I was actually a world champion after the tough times. They rejoiced on my behalf. They knew they’d be criticized in the Norwegian media, but I felt like they saw it as if one of them had won.”

Simon points out that, on paper, her friendship with the Norwegian biathletes might look absurd, as they come from nations that are fierce rivals in the sport. But for her, the friendship, both with the Norwegian women and men, has been a source of personal growth:

“We can’t choose the group we belong to. We all have fun together, but we each have people we feel closer to, and sometimes you can make true friends across national borders. It’s challenging but exciting to experience another culture and a different way of living. They’ve taught me to speak English and to break down barriers.”

The Biathlon World Cup season kicks off on the last weekend of November, and this winter’s World Championship will be held in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

Read more: Biathlon World Cup and World Championships: Calendar for the 2024/2025 winter season