Present in Beijing as a consultant, the five-time Olympic biathlon champion necessarily puts a wise eye on the performance of his former teammate, Quentin Fillon Maillet.
Our special correspondent in China
Martin, how do you judge the performance of Quentin Fillon Maillet during this pursuit?
Martin Fourcade: It was a magnificent race on his part. He achieved a high-ranking performance in shooting. I am very happy for him with this new title. He mastered the run with a big swing on the third shot with a Johannes Boe who was really unlucky on the first standing shot. It changed the face of the race. Now, having said that, it was still necessary to succeed in doing what Quentin did at the end of the race. The Russian was starting to put him in a little difficulty and the way Quentin reacted was simply grandiose. It’s great to see him perpetuate this fine French tradition on the Olympic pursuit, with at least one representative on the podium each time since its introduction in 2002.
Read alsoOlympic Games 2022: rifle blocked just before shooting, Fillon Maillet’s (great) moment of distress in the middle of the race
Personally, does he impress you?
It’s great to see Quentin picking up the medals like he doesn’t realize what he’s doing. We have the impression that he is on a run in his Jura, serene, calm. He put in an incredible performance during this pursuit. It is carried by something that is difficult to explain or analyze. For example, he sends shots on this run as if there is no wind. When you are on a more cerebral and thoughtful side, you do what Johannes Boe did, you put your shot more. But Quentin, he sends without asking any questions. To do this, you need a bit of detachment and carelessness. It ignores everything else, it’s impressive.
If someone had asked me three months ago if Quentin would be able to pull this off, I would have honestly said no.
Martin Fourcade on Quentin Fillon Maillet
And immediatelyJO 2022: “Freedom, Equality, Fillon Maillet!”, Tributes pour in after the legendary race of the Frenchman
He is making history in turn…
Of course, he’s a two-time Olympic champion, he’s going to win the big World Cup crystal globe at the end of the season, and I’m not taking a lot of risks in saying that. He just lacks a world individual title for having won everything possible in biathlon. And then four medals in a single edition of the Games, with two titles, that’s magnificent. Especially, as we saw today, that we play a sport that can be very uncertain due to weather conditions, having such mastery, as it has since the start of the season, inevitably it slams .
Read alsoOlympic Games 2022: Olympic pursuit champion, Quentin Fillon Maillet becomes a legend
How do you explain that he explodes so suddenly this season?
It’s true that I had never seen him reach this level before. And if someone had asked me three months ago if Quentin would be able to pull this off, I would have honestly said no. As a result, the pleasure of seeing him achieve this is even greater for me. I saw him land in 2013 in the World Cup and I immediately detected mental qualities, fighting spirit in him. He never let go and we called him the noughts and crosses at the beginning because he had this quality of fighter. The other great quality he has is to be opportunistic. He does not miss the opportunities given to him. But what he achieves at these Games goes far beyond that. There is a technical, strategic, physical and emotional mastery. And I had never detected such dominating potential in Quentin. He demanded it a lot between 2018 and 2021. Often, I found that he put words before actions. Today, he puts actions before words.
When you were younger, you did not imagine him succeeding in such a course?
He had qualities that were not those that a Johannes (Boe) could have, nor even the physical qualities of an Emilien Jacquelin. Quentin has built himself a lot by optimizing every part of his potential. And on these Games, he shows that he also had qualities that took longer to hatch. He had that in him and few can claim to have imagined that ten years ago.
Were you in the same frame of mind as him when you won your first Olympic title in 2014?
I don’t see it the same way at all. I was truly liberated because I had achieved my goal. Quentin, I have the impression that he is much cooler and more serene than I could have been at the time. It is in an innocence, in a sense that is not at all pejorative, in a simplicity of the moment and in a pleasure on the track.
Can he win six medals in six races in your opinion?
Already, the fifth will not depend only on him. And then we will have to see how the climatic conditions continue to evolve. The wind is never an exact science. But if there isn’t one on the mass start, yes, he can still put in a really big performance, given his current confidence level. And as the France team is legitimately applying for the podium, yes, he can achieve this full card.
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