Camille Bened

Camille Bened (born 6 September 2000) is a French biathlete. She is the 2026 Olympic Champion in relay.

Career Camille Bened competed exclusively in junior-level events from 2016 to 2019. She made her debut in the IBU Junior Cup in December 2016 in Lenzerheide and celebrated her first victory with the relay team during the same season. In February 2017, she emerged as one of the most successful athletes at the European Youth Olympic Festival, winning a gold, silver, and bronze medal. The following winter, she achieved two individual podium finishes and, alongside Myrtille Bègue and Lou Jeanmonnot, secured the relay gold at the Youth World Championships. In December 2018, Bened won her first individual Junior Cup race and defended the relay title at the Youth World Championships with Jeanmonnot and Sophie Chauveau. At the 2019 Junior European Championships, she achieved victories in the individual and sprint races thanks to her flawless shooting.

At the start of the 2019/20 season, Bened made her debut in the IBU Cup, finishing in the top 10 in her third race, the pursuit in Sjusjøen. She again claimed relay gold at the Junior World Championships, this time with Laura Boucaud, Lou Anne Chevat, and Paula Botet. Her best results at her first European Championships were 25th in the super sprint and 7th in the mixed relay. In January 2021, she reached her first individual IBU Cup podium with a third-place finish in Arber behind Russians Tatiana Akimova and Anastasia Shevchenko. Shortly after, she placed second with the mixed relay team. At the Junior World Championships, Bened won another relay gold and achieved her first and only individual title by winning the individual race. During the 2021/22 season, Bened placed in the top ten in individual races seven times, finishing fifth in the overall standings. She secured her first IBU Cup sprint victory in Osrblie and ended the season with another win in Ridnaun with the mixed relay. In the 2022/23 season, she again finished in the top ten eight times but only managed a single podium finish with the mixed relay, taking third place in Canmore. In January 2024, Bened won her first European Championships medal, claiming silver in the mixed relay alongside Théo Guiraud-Poillot, Antonin Guigonnat, and Océane Michelon, finishing behind the Norwegian team. That same winter, she secured three more IBU Cup podium finishes, narrowly missing a sprint victory in Arber in early February due to a shooting miss.

Biathlon results All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.

Olympic Games 1 medals: 4 x 6 km relay (gold) EventIndividualSprintPursuitRelay 2026 Milano-Cortina 6th — — — Gold —

Individual podiums

Youth and Junior World Championships 5 medals (5 gold) Year Age Individual Sprint Pursuit Relay 2018 Otepää 18 27th 43rd 31st Gold 2019 Brezno-Osrblie 19 6th 7th 12th Gold 2020 Lenzerheide 20 7th 17th 5th Gold 2021 Obertilliach 21 Gold 4th 4th Gold