The IBU World Cup continued in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czechia in the final tune-up stage before the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.

It was a cold, foggy and wet evening for the women's 12.5km short individual interval start event and when it was all said and done, the French team took the top-two spots in the race.

Justine Braisaz-Bouchet secured her first victory of the season in 35 minutes and 50.3 seconds. The gold medal was the 14th victory of her career.

"I'm really pleased. 19 out of 20 is really good. It was good battle with Lou as well," said Braisaz-Bouchet.

French teammate Lou Jeanmonnot collapsed after she finished 1.4 seconds back to earn silver.

Braisaz-Bouchet and Jeanmonnot were pacing similarly in the final stretch, and it came down to the wire to see which biathlete would claim gold for the French. They each had one miss on the day from the range.

Jeanmonnot remains the overall World Cup leader this season.

German biathlete Franziska Preuss grabbed the final podium spot after she crossed the line 1 minute and 0.8 seconds later than Jeanmonnot. The bronze medal in the women's 12.km individual was Preuss' first podium of the season.

For the U.S. women, Deedra Irwin placed 13th and Margie Freed had a personal-best World Cup finish at 31st overall.

Biathlon World Cup competition continues in Nove Mesto na Morave with the women's and men's single mixed relay event, as well as the women's and men's mixed relay competition.