The tragic story behind this biathlon gold

Quentin Fillon Maillet has been telling the biathlon world almost every week this winter that he has a great fighting heart. Tuesday was no different. Although the Frenchman missed two shots in the Olympic individual competition and received two penalty minutes for it, he ran away from the competition and won his first Olympic victory. For comparison: Second-placed Anton Smolski, a three-time podium finisher in the World Cup this year, didn't make a single mistake, but still crossed the finish line almost 15 seconds behind. Proof that Fillon Maillet is probably the best biathlete in the world at the moment.

The fact that the 29-year-old from the 8000-strong community of Champagnole in eastern France also has fighting qualities outside of the cross-country ski track is evident from his difficult, even tragic story. “Who am I thinking about now? To all my relatives, especially my girlfriend and my late father-in-law. Four years ago they went through very difficult times and biathlon took a back seat back then,” he said after his Olympic victory. Two shock diagnoses at once Fillon Maillet is specifically thinking about the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. At the time, his long-time friend Lydie was suffering from cancer and fighting for her life. At the same time, Lydie's father - and therefore Fillon Maillet's father-in-law - was also diagnosed with cancer. Lydia was able to win this difficult battle; her father died as a result of the tumor. “It was so hard for me back then.” Quentin Fillon Maillet The 2018 Olympics were extremely difficult for the French biathlete to cope with from a psychological point of view. His placings (29th in the mass start, 44th in the pursuit, 48th in the sprint) are clear evidence of this. “It was so hard for me back then,” remembers Fillon Maillet, who is now – four years later – getting his satisfaction. “I dreamed of Olympics like this.” The outstanding biathlete In order to fulfill this dream, the son of a winter sports-loving family has worked extremely hard over the last few years. However, for a long time he was in the shadow of the French biathlon legend Martin Fourcade. When the superstar retired in spring 2020, the following season the two Norwegians Johannes Thingnes Bø and Sturla Holm Lægreid fought a duel for the overall World Cup until the knot at Fillon Maillet literally exploded this year. Thanks to his five wins this season, he is at the top of the overall standings, where he is more than 130 points ahead of his pursuers. In other words, that's two race wins, because there are 60 points for each triumph.

The next fairy tale follows at the Olympics. After silver with the mixed relay, Quentin Fillon Maillet won gold in the individual on Tuesday. Afterwards his thoughts were with his girlfriend. “Before I left she said to me: 'Try to win for me and for my father'. Now it’s done.”

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The tragic story behind this biathlon gold

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