Sawt Falasteen - Simon in credit as controversial biathlete wins Olympic gold

The 29-year-old, who had won gold in the mixed relay on Sunday, cried as the Marseillaise rang out at the medals ceremony, her gold elevating her to being France's greatest ever woman biathlete.

And well she might have wept, because in October her presence at the Milan-Cortina Games hung in the balance.

She was found guilty of stealing and using the credit cards of her team-mate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and a team physiotherapist.

Aside from her prison sentence, she was also fined 15,000 euros ($17,800) and suspended for a month, which forced her to start her season late.

Simon, though, was not in the mood to reflect on the events of last year -- she had hinted at that by raising a finger to her mouth as she crossed the line.

"What I would like now in all honesty is for you to leave me in peace," she told Eurosport.

"I already read things last night which did not please me. I believe I proved today that I deserved my place, and even before that."

- 'Please stop it' -

Simon, a 10-time world champion, had already shown her steely resolve when she returned to the team after being dropped for five months in 2023 after the scandal first appeared in the media.

She swept into the 2024 world championships -- and all seemed sweetness and light between her and Braisat-Bouchez, who was also on the team -- as if she had never been away. Simon won four titles, Braisat-Bouchez three.

On Wednesday, Braisat-Bouchez finished a distant 80th in Simon's race.

Many may have taken a dim view of Simon's betrayal of the trust of two members of the French biathlon setup but there will be grudging admiration for her ability to block out outside noise and focus on her events.

"I think her strength is she really manages to focus on herself, what she wants to do," mental health coach Marie-Laure Brunet, who worked with Simon for three years from 2021, told AFP in February 2024.

"To put herself in a kind of bubble. I think she is so in the zone there is nothing else that counts," added Brunet, who won two biathlon Olympic medals in 2010 before switching careers.

So far Simon does indeed seem to have remained in her "bubble", as she needs to be with more medals up for grabs before the Olympic flame at these Games is extinguished.

Nevertheless her desire to turn the page may not be reciprocated.

"I would like you to leave me be and to perform. The page has been turned within the team, we have spoken about it," she pleaded.

"We are here to win medals. I think we showed that once again today.

"Therefore please stop it, whether it be the media or the general public. That would be really appreciated by everybody."

A.AbuSaada--SF-PST