ALBERTVILLE, France (AP) — French biathlon star Julia Simon was found guilty of theft and credit card fraud by a French court and handed a three-month suspended prison sentence on Friday, a decision that leaves a question mark over her participation at next year's Winter Olympics.
Simon was accused of repeatedly using the bank card of her teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and that of a French team staff member to make online purchases totaling more than 2,000 euros ($2,300).
“I can’t explain it. I don’t remember doing it. I can’t make sense of it,” Simon said during the hearing, as quoted by local newspaper Le Dauphine Libere.
Simon was also fined 15,000 euros ($17,450) after she admitted the thefts during the hearing and offered apologies to the victims, local media reported.
The French ski federation said in a statement it took note of the court's ruling and that its disciplinary commission would meet as soon as possible “to determine any disciplinary action at the federation level.”
Simon has claimed 10 world titles and won an Olympic silver medal for France in the mixed relay at the 2022 Beijing Games.
Following the ruling, the French federation could find itself under pressure to leave Simon off the Olympic team. It said it will continue, “as it has since the case first came to light, to take all necessary measures to protect the interests of the athletes, the coaching staff, and the team environment."
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Murder for Two Read moreMurder For Two
Kicks or Treats: Dance for Free Week at CY Danceworks! Read moreKicks or Treats Dance for Free Week at CY Danceworks
Burlingame High School Panther Theater group brings Neil's Simon's farce Rumors to life on O… Read moreNeil Simon's Rumors: Burlingame High School Drama
BSA Troop 44 invites all 5th-8th grade boys and girls to our annual Canoe Day event! Meet ou… Read moreBoys & girls grades 5th - 8th: Join us for Canoe Day!
anna kuhre said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.