PORTRAIT – Proud to wear the tricolors in competition, the Franco-Norwegian biathlete begins the new World Cup season with fierce ambition. Without forgetting to have fun on the track.
«It’s an adults’ game but I want to say a children’s game too. We have the impression that the stakes are becoming immense but ultimately it remains a game, a sport.” As we begin a new World Cup season, Éric Perrot does not forget his credo: fun in the service of performance. “I am someone who really likes to play, I take great pleasure in practicing my sport competitively. I think that this state of mind allows me to evolve at my best level, to express my full potential in many races,” confides the French biathlete. A fan of mountain sports (paragliding, cycling, etc.), board games and chess, he admits not having “fear of the event. This was verified this Sunday when the Habs ensured a perfect relay (10/10 shooting) to participate in the victory of the Blues ahead of the Norwegians and Swedes, the day after, already, a podium gleaned in the mixed relay.
At 23, the native of Bourg-Saint-Maurice is no longer hiding after a 2023-2024 financial year.rich in learning”finished in 11th place in the general World Cup rankings with the added bonus of a first career victory in the Soldier Hollow sprint (United States) and a world title pocketed in the tricolor mixed relay in Nove Mesto (Czech Republic). ) in February. “From the world championships onwards, I was really able to play regularly in the top 10, at the front of the stage. Spending a lot of time in these positions, working alongside the best biathletes each time, made me gain experience and confidence…”, analyzes the man who, as usual since his debut on the main circuit three years ago, is the youngest member of the French team alongside his partners Quentin Fillon Maillet (32 years old), Fabien Claude (29), Émilien Jacquelin (29) and Oscar Lombardot (24). But no matter, we are not talking about age with Éric Perrot but rather about parentage.
“A good genetic heritage”
Son of the former member of the French team Franck Perrot and the Norwegian Tone Marit Oftedal, junior world champion, young Eric fell into the biathlon pot at a young age. Starting his studies at the local club in the Tarentaise valley until entering the doors of the national team, passing through the Savoie ski committee and the French pole of the Chambérien Basin. “There is something a little innate, something in the blood which is transmitted and which is difficult to palpableguesses the biathlete, detailing the role of his lineage with which he goes from “bons moments» to discuss his performances. I was lucky to have a good genetic heritage with my parents who come from this environment and a good education. But it remains a personal choice to have entered this world of competition around biathlon today. They always supported me, they were always there to help me but never pushed me to make one choice over another. It allows me today to flourish in my passion without it having been caused by the family environment.”
I have always been French as a sportsman. For me, it has always been natural to follow this path
Eric Perrot
A story of choices made all the more clear when it was necessary to opt for one’s sporting nationality. “I was born in France, I grew up in France… Finally, I have always been French as an athlete. For me, it has always been natural to follow this path, assumes dual nationality. Over time, I also got to know the history of the French team, which is very beautiful. When I know where French biathlon comes from, it makes me even more want to bring my little touch of skiing to this story.” To follow in the footsteps of the references Raphaël Poirée and Martin Fourcade, and make your own “flame” as a competitor, Éric Perrot crosses swords with the men to beat from Norway, still led by the Boe brothers, the eldest Tarje (36 years old) and the youngest Johannes (31 years old), winner of his 5th big crystal globe l last winter. Obviously, the feeling is special for the Franco-Norwegian skiing in blue-white-red: “I have a very strong connection with this country, I feel both French and Norwegian on many points. I have a lot of friends who are in Norway. There is a very beautiful friendship and at the same time a very beautiful rivalry between the two countries. It’s a bit of the contrast that I like between the track and off the track.”
ISAAC HALE / AFP
Thirst for victories… and the Olympic Games
Accustomed every year to go “up there” visiting his maternal family, the holder of a World Cup bouquet has just completed his pre-season on Scandinavian soil, finishing 4th in the sprint and 10th in the mass start in Sjusjoen in mid-November. “I feel really up to it. Mentally, I’m really into it, I can’t wait for it to start. The training has paid off, at least so far. Physically, everything is going very well too. In terms of shooting, it is also well regulated. All the lights are green.judged at the end of his preparation the one who will not compete for the blue bib of the best young person after his 2nd place last year in this ranking (behind the Italian Tommaso Giacomel), due to the lowering of the age limit under 23 years old decided by the International Biathlon Union (IBU).
So focus on the general classification of the World Cup. “It’s true that I have a lot of ambition, I don’t always like to show it but I don’t like to hide it either. There is on the one hand my personal objective which is just to progress from year to year, to be able to be better and to get closer to the top positionsadmits Éric Perrot. Then there is necessarily a quantified objective. It’s certain that the first victory made me want to go for more… Afterwards, there are the World Championships where the goal will be to go for a title.”
It’s a unique opportunity. Just to have this opportunity present itself is crazy
Éric Perrot on the 2030 Olympic Games organized in France
Déjà «connected to his dream of a yellow jersey”the Savoyard recocks the rifle with conviction because, more than a season which resumes, it is an Olympiad which is in full swing. On the horizon are the Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy) in February 2026 – which he thinks “almost every day” – and especially those of 2030, at home in the heart of the French Alps. “It’s a unique opportunity. Just to have this opportunity present itself, it’s crazy.”he enthuses without forgetting what makes his strength: “The Olympic Games are the most beautiful thing. They’re not called games for nothing and I try not to forget that. It’s important to remember that it’s just a game organized so that we can have fun as athletes, so that the public can also have fun, ultimately so that everyone has fun. Start of the fun biathlon game this Tuesday (4:20 p.m.) with the men’s short individual (15km) for the very playful Éric Perrot, ready to win all possible rounds this winter.
