Ski sticks in her left hand, French flag in her right and a smile as wide as the margin between her and the rest of the field, Julia Simon cruised over the line during the final week of the Winter Olympics to claim gold for her country in the women's 4 x 6km relay.
Teammates Camille Bened, Lou Jeanmonnot and Océane Michelon ran up to embrace her for anchoring home the squad and furnishing France with its first triumph in the event since the 1992 Games in Albertville in south-eastern France.
The fantastic four celebrated in a huddle for the best part of a minute before respectfully reconfiguring to welcome home Sweden's Hanna Oeberg.
"It's always been a dream to finish a race waving the flag," a radiant Simon told French broadcaster France 2 minutes after she had won her third gold medal.
"And I was able to do it. The others gave me the chance to finish in such wonderful style."
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Credit card scandal
No little acrimony bedevilled France's women's squad in the prelude to the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.
Last October, a court in Simon's hometown of Albertville found her guilty of racking up more than €2,000 on the credit card of teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet. She admitted she had also been abusing the card of the team physiotherapist between 2021 and 2022.
Simon, who was given a three-month suspended sentence, told prosecutors she had no recollection of her actions. The French Ski Federation banned her for six months – five of which were suspended.
The punishment, coupled with a €15,000 fine, allowed her to participate in her second Winter Olympics.
Four years after winning one silver from her six races in Beijing, Simon has skied and shot her way to redemption around the biathlon courses in Antholz-Anterselva.
The path from penitence started on 8 February with gold in the 4 x 6km mixed relay with Jeanmonnot, Eric Perrot and Quentin Fillon Maillet.
Three days later, after winning the individual event just ahead of Jeanmonnot, she held a finger to her lips, but refused to explain the gesture.
"It was for one person and he knows it because we had a talk," she said. "But I won’t say any more about it. It’s over."
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Childhood dream
Fire has burned within Simon since she was enrolled as a child at the winter sports club in the French Alps where her father worked.
Excelling in both cross-country and downhill skiing on the slopes in south-eastern France, the added attraction of shooting lured her to the biathlon side.
"From the age of three, I wanted to be a champion," Simon said in an interview with the French Olympic Committee's website.
"There were quite a few of us in the Savoie region but in the end, only two of my generation managed to reach the top level. As time goes by, a natural selection process takes place. Some people want to do other things."
Simon worked her way through the junior ranks and the second-tier IBU Cup circuit before getting a taste of the most prestigious biathlon competitions on the World Cup tour in 2017.
She has been a stalwart in the races at the top level since while making alterations under the aegis of shooting coach Jean-Paul Giachino, who helped her deconstruct and rebuild her prone shooting technique.
'Mix of generations'
Team head coach Cyril Burdet has overseen Simon's reintegration into the squad in the wake of her suspended sentence.
"Cyril has found the right balance to manage situations and maintain a fairly good working atmosphere, so that the women continue to give their best," said Simon Fourcade, his counterpart in the men's team.
Together, he and Burdet have masterminded five golds in the men's and women's individual events as well as in the team relays.
"Cyril has brought young talent to the fore," said Simon. "There's a mix of generations between the senior athletes, who have also matured, and the young athletes who are arriving without any inhibitions and want to push us out."
With her three golds, Simon, though, will take some moving.
