Zhangjiakou (China) (AFP) – Biathlete Quentin Fillon Maillet became Olympic pursuit champion on Sunday February 13 at the Zhangjiakou site, bringing France its tenth medal from the 2022 Beijing Olympics, the second in gold for the Jurassien and the tricolor delegation.
With this pursuit title, that of the individual and his two silver medals in the sprint and in the mixed relay, Quentin Fillon Maillet enters the legend of French sport, becoming the first French sportsman to win four medals during same edition of the Winter Games.
” Double Olympic champion! “, he shouted crossing the finish line, before joining a small group of the French team to take the blue-white-red flag and celebrate this triumph won in dantesque conditions of wind and under more and more snow falling on the track.
Starting second in the chase 26 seconds behind his great rival, the Norwegian Johannes Boe, the 29-year-old Frenchman was perfect on the shooting range, blanking his twenty targets, unlike Boe, who missed two targets on his second prone shot, three on the first standing shot and another two on the last shot.
Neck and neck with Russian Eduard Latypov, “QFM” put pressure on the last biathlete who could prevent him from winning his second gold medal in China. Latypov’s fault on the last shot sealed the fate of the race, for a final lap in the form of a triumphal march.
“Extraordinary Confidence”
So here he is with two gold medals and two silver, while the legend of French and planetary biathlon, Martin Fourcade, returned with three podiums from the Sochi Games in 2014 (twice gold in the individual and pursuit, and once silver in the mass start) and the Pyeongchang Games in 2018 (three times gold in the pursuit, mass start and mixed relay).
” From a factual point of view, he has progressed since last year, he has taken a step “, Estimated with AFP Martin Fourcade. ” He has a regularity. The difference in these Games is that he has a self-confidence that is extraordinary. Few athletes have this “, Appreciated the five-time Olympic champion, who sees the Jura player getting closer.
Because Fillon Maillet’s exceptional harvest could continue in the coming days, since he still has the men’s relay, the only race in which Fourcade has never won a podium at the Games in his career, Tuesday (5:00 p.m. local, 10:00 a.m. French ) and the mass start on Friday (5 p.m. local).