Hitting all 20 targets and skiing on a level unreachable for the rest of the field, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet won in the Mass Start in 34:37.2 and collected her first individual gold medal at the BMW IBU World Championships 2024 in Nove Mesto.

Lisa Vittozzi, also with 20/20, finished second, 31.2 seconds behind the French winner. It is Vittozzi's third individual medal in Nove Mesto. Lou Jeanmonnot, with one miss, finished third, 56.7 back. After the bronze in the Sprint, it was the second individual medal for Jeanmonnot. Braisaz-Bouchet finishes the Championships with five medals, Vittozzi and Jeanmonnot with four.

Braisaz-Bouchet takes the lead after second shooting

Braisaz-Bouchet and Julia Simon, great rivals from the French team, opened the Mass Start on their terms, skiing in front, battling for an edge in a highly anticipated showdown in Nove Mesto. Simon was faster after the first shoot, but one miss in each of the remaining stages opened Braisaz-Bouchet a highway to the gold medal. With Jeanmonnot perhaps too ambitious in the first prone and convincing in the remaining three-quarters of the race, Vittozzi wisely followed her own pace. She shot 69/70 in the four individual competitions for an incredible 98.5% shooting accuracy.

Good day for Hauser, Austria

Simon, with 17/20, finished fourth, 1:24.9 behind Braisaz-Bouchet. Vanessa Voigt, with 20/20, finished in the fifth place, 1:29.7 back. Lisa Theresa Hauser, with 19/20, saved her best performance of the season so far for the last competition in Nove Mesto: she finished 1:36.9 behind the French winner in sixth place. Hauser's teammate Anna Gandler finished seventh, 1:44.8 behind Braisaz-Bouchet.

Photo: C. Manzoni. V. Thibaut