The French world champion must answer to theft and fraud charges before the criminal court in Albertville.
Ten-time biathlon world champion Julia Simon has fully admitted her guilt in the credit card affair involving her French teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet.
She confessed to “all acts,” said the 29-year-old before the criminal court in Albertville. Simon had to answer to theft and fraud charges there on Friday.
Simon also apologized to Braisaz-Bouchet and a staff member of the French biathlon team but stated she was unable to “consciously explain” her actions.
She is working with a psychologist, she told the court, “to understand all of this, to grow and develop myself.” Whether the affair will have sporting consequences for Simon during the Olympic winter remains open.
Braisaz-Bouchet and another member of the French national team staff had each filed complaints, accusing Simon of misusing their credit cards for orders.
Purchases worth “approximately 2300 euros” were delivered to the address of the overall World Cup winner of the 2022/23 season. Simon had long denied the allegations and had filed a complaint against unknown persons for identity fraud.
The acts are said to have occurred during a training camp in Norway in the summer of 2022. After the allegations became known, Simon was temporarily excluded from the French team training in 2023 and briefly taken into custody in October. However, she was reintegrated into the team the following winter.