Julia Simon secured biathlon glory on the Winter Olympics forward of her sufferer.
Julia Simon clinched the gold medal forward of her sufferer within the ladies’s biathlon (Picture: Getty)
A biathlete on the Winter Olympics who was discovered responsible of stealing her team-mate’s bank card has overwhelmed her to the gold medal. Julia Simon, representing France, secured glory within the ladies’s 15km particular person biathlon on Wednesday. Her compatriot, Lou Jeanmonnot, got here residence in second place to take the silver medal whereas Lora Hristova from Bulgaria took bronze.
Simon additionally managed to beat a fellow athlete who she stole lots of of kilos from a number of years in the past. Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, one other member of the French staff, completed in eightieth place in the identical race. Final 12 months, Simon was discovered to have spent greater than €2,000 (£1,741) utilizing her team-mate’s bank card particulars in 2021.
She denied the crime for 3 years, claiming she had been a sufferer of identification theft, earlier than lastly admitting her guilt in a courtroom listening to in October. It got here after Simon was discovered to have pictures of the bank card on her telephone.
The newly-crowned Olympic champion was additionally discovered to have used the cardboard particulars of a staff physiotherapist to make purchases between 2021 and 2022. On the time, she stated: “I confess the accusations however I don’t keep in mind committing them. It’s like a blackout.”
Simon added that she discovered her crime “incomprehensible” and stated that she was “working with a psychologist to know what occurred”. She was finally handed a €15,000 (£13,062) high-quality and a three-month suspended sentence.
The scandal solely got here to gentle after Simon had gained the primary of her 10 world championship titles and resulted in Braisaz-Bouchet receiving a barrage of on-line abuse.
“It has made lots of people indignant,” she stated. “The story got here out in 2023, after Julia Simon’s nice season, and for many individuals I used to be the troublemaker.”
Simon additionally helped France to win the gold medal within the 4x6km combined relay on Sunday, when she was on the anchor leg.
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