Antonin Guigonnat and Julia Simon won a surprise medal at the Worlds.

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JOE KLAMAR / AFP

The French pair Julia Simon-Antonin Guigonnat was crowned world champion in the mixed single relay, Thursday at the Biathlon Worlds in Pokljuka. Simon and Guigonnat were ahead of Norway (Johannes Boe-Tiril Eckhoff) and Sweden (Sebastian Samuelsson-Hanna Oeberg ) to offer a 2nd title, after Emilien Jacquelin's gold in pursuit, and a 6th medal for Les Bleus since the start of the competition.

"There were only favorites on the race, we are ahead of Boe, Eckhoff, Oeberg, us, the team surprise bag, we hit it!"



The team "surprise bag" @antoguigo - Julia Simon at the microphone of Tangi Kerhoas after the victory in the single mixed relay #lequipeBIATHLON pic.twitter.com/9r2UIbF6yY

- L'Équipe channel (@lachainelequipe) February 18, 2021

The choice of the French management to align Guigonnat in order to preserve Jacquelin for the end of the Worlds has therefore paid off.

With only 5 small shooting faults, the Habs were particularly clever behind the rifle to come to subdue Norway, title holder, who had yet bet on the two world No. 1, Boe and Eckhoff.

Julia Simon, who competed in the 2nd Worlds of her career, won at 24 her first medal at this level while Antonin Guigonnat climbed for the second time on the podium after the money gleaned during the mass start in Ostersund in 2019.

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