Camille Bened’s rise to the top level of biathlon has been anything but linear, and that is precisely what makes her selection for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Games so significant.

At 25, the French biathlete secured her Olympic ticket following a breakthrough start to the 2025/2026 season, highlighted by her first individual World Cup podium in Östersund. With just one missed shot, Bened finished third, confirming her reputation as one of the most reliable shooters on the circuit.

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Shooting has long been her defining strength, even in the early years, when ideal conditions were lacking.

“There was no ski club near my home, and no shooting range. We had to find solutions,” said the Evian-les-Bains native to Team France.

Her father, Frédéric, helped set up improvised training sessions. “He took us to shoot in a quarry, outside opening hours. We had to load and unload all the equipment twice a week and set up the range each time. It was quite a logistical operation.”

Growing up in Vacheresse, a small village in the Abondance Valley, Bened initially gravitated toward cross-country skiing, later transitioning to biathlon. Her development accelerated quickly. After early success at the regional level, she progressed through the Mont-Blanc Committee and the sport-study system in Saint-Gervais before representing France on the Junior Cup circuit in 2016/2017.

That same season brought her first taste of a multi-sport Olympic event at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Erzurum, where she won gold, silver, and bronze medals. “When you’re young, and you receive your French team kit, it’s like a Christmas present. It felt like a mini version of the Olympic Games. I wanted to see what it was like at the highest level.”

Junior success followed, including four relay world titles between 2018 and 2021. But the rapid progression came at a cost. Injuries and overtraining disrupted her career path, culminating in a fractured wrist in 2023 and a serious shoulder injury that required surgery in spring 2025.

“I went through a kind of mini burnout. My body can handle a lot, but when it stops, it stops completely, without warning. In some races, my body just didn’t want to go anymore,” Bened admitted.

The setback forced a reset, both physically and mentally. “Before, I wanted to be the best all the time. That was exhausting. Now, I’m focused on showing the best version of myself.” That shift proved decisive.

The 2025–2026 World Cup season confirmed her return to the top. Alongside her individual podium in Östersund, Bened also finished on the podium in the single mixed relay with Fabien Claude and narrowly missed another medal in the mass start in Grand-Bornand, shooting a perfect 20/20.

“I proved to myself that I have enormous mental resources, and now I want to see how far I can go,” she said.

Those results secured her place in the French Olympic squad for Milano Cortina. Yet Bened’s ambitions extend beyond selection. “I don’t just want to be selected. I want to earn a starting position.”

The Olympic biathlon competitions begin in Anterselva on February 8, 2026. For Bened, it marks the transition from watching the Games as a child to competing on the sport’s biggest stage.

“It’s a little girl’s dream coming true. There were tough moments, but it was worth fighting for. Today, we have the best women’s team in the world. We can achieve great things.”

Read More: Program for biathlon at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics

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