Post-Olympic Games are often a difficult stage for an athlete. He especially came at a certain age and at a certain moment in his personal life. At the age of 29, Anais Chevalier-Boucher certainly has many good years left in biathlon. Even more so after a season in which he finished 5th at the World Cup, the best performance of his career, and two Olympic silver medals from Beijing. But in addition, the young woman also has a little girl, Amy, who is now 3 years old, who always waits for her to come home after the World Cup stage. A wonderful reason, in addition to the already well-stocked experience, to put away the spatulas and the gun to commit to a new phase of life. However, Iserois decided to travel again at the end of the spring, full of internal questioning…
“If I stopped, of course, it would be for my family, but also because I fulfilled the goal I set for the Olympics.“, he confided to us in early October. “However, I felt that I still had two or three things to do to be more productive. I deeply felt inside that I still have a little room to improve to become better and I try to put everything in order to achieve it. And then I have only one victory in the world championship in the individual competition, and I do not have the title of world champion.»
Oberhof World Championships in the sights
His record deficit, which he intends to make up for at the World Championships in Oberhof (February 8-19, 2023). “This will be one of the main goals of my season. I’ve had silver and bronze medals (3 each) before at worlds, but no gold. This definitely pricks my pride a little. Many times I have not missed much to turn silver or bronze into gold. A missed shot, a few extra seconds on the skis… I feel like I can make it, I just haven’t gotten to the end of it yet. I have already done good things, I have good foundations, but I lack a little touch of madness. I wanted to dig in to make sure I didn’t regret it when I quit.»
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Another reason that prompted her to continue her career was the arrival of Cyrille Bourdais, who previously coached the sprint team in… skiing, at the head of the technical staff of the French women’s team. “Cyril’s arrival marks a small shock“, he admits. “I told him that I was ready to change everything, not all, but a part that I was ready to push myself. It’s something I’d never asked before because I was pretty sure what I wanted to do. There I said to myself that it is better if I go, and for that I need to be turned upside down, disturbed. And Cyril does it very well, both mentally and physically. But that’s okay because that’s what I want. The challenge is really hard, but it allows you to go into training with extra motivation.Burdett says he’s a bit of a messiah in waiting because he believes his room for improvement is greater on the skis than in the shooting range. “The shots are generally spot on. I know how to get resources when I need to place important balls. The room for improvement is more on the skis, on the race strategy… The fact that Cyril comes from a group of sprinters, it was a great opportunity for me to work differently.»
Anais Chevalier-Bouchet, off the top of her 5th place in the world, will become the French women’s biathlon leader if Olympic mass start champion Justine Brysas is not on maternity leave this season. “This spring I realized that Justin had questions that were a little too biased to be completely innocent.Izerua smiles. “I think he took the time to really think about it. He has seen an example of me or Marie Doreen-Habert before. I feel him very at ease in his choice. Besides, he told me himself that he doesn’t feel stressed about it. And he is right to make this choice, because it feels good to cut off, to get out of this environment a little bit.“An experience that Anais Chevalier-Boucher lived to the same age, 26, as her teammate, and that she lived well. “The Alpine Skiing Federation gave me the opportunity to take a year off and restore my status after returning, which was very important for me. Knowing that I wouldn’t lose my hard-earned spot in previous seasons gave me some peace of mind. Then there are no rules for everything related to private partners, sponsors. Each case is more or less different. I was lucky that they supported me. So everything went well for me. I can see that it is less in other disciplines, but personally I have no right to complain. The ski federation did what was necessary for me to live this moment well, as it did for Marie (Dorine-Hubert).»
If I was away from my daughter, I should have done it to perform, not to take 15th or 20th place.
Anais Chevalier-Bouchet
As for whether Anais’s mother is different from that single athlete at the beginning, the biathlete doesn’t think so. Or more. “I felt that I changed the first year when I returned to the district. I had a much bigger perspective on the sport and at the same time more motivation because I wanted every event I participated in to be really important. If I was away from my daughter, I should have done it to perform, not to take 15th or 20th place. And then finally, the more the years go by, the more we fall back on the past. At some point I became very emotional, probably due to hormones, but there I was again the usual Anais, maybe not quite the same as before, because becoming a mother does change, but not far.»
The head has not yet turned to 2026
Anais, who, however, refuses to look beyond the coming season and who opens this Wednesday with a women’s single (1:15 p.m.) in Kontiolahti, Finland. “So far, I haven’t decided whether I will return to the full Olympics“, he lets out. “I want to take it year by year and count it every time. It’s a little too hard for me today to project myself into 2026.“In a year when the next Olympics are hosted by Milan and Cortina D’Ampezzo, and where she can try to do better than the women’s relay bronze and individual silver and silver in PyeongChang 2018. The 2022 medley relay in Beijing. “In Beijing, I wanted to leave with two medals: individual and one in the relay, which was done. I don’t feel like it’s unfinished. That’s why the decision I made in the spring was not an easy one, because I’m already proud of my record and wondered if it was worth starting again.»
Before concluding, as a true competitor, he is:I don’t spit on what I did, far from it. But at the same time, in Beijing I was only 9 seconds away from the gold, which is no more than 45 minutes of racing. I can’t help but tell myself that it could have gone in my favor, even if it could have gone the other way and I would have ended up at the foot of the podium. It’s just that I feel like I’m missing just a little something, and since I’m a perfectionist who loves a challenge, I had to keep going.»
Source: Le Figaro
I am Dylan Hudson, a dedicated and experienced journalist in the news industry. I have been working for Buna Times, as an author since 2018. My expertise lies in covering sports sections of the website and providing readers with reliable information on current sporting events.