Quentin Fillon-Maillet wants “mark the history of biathlon”as he repeated after each of his five medals (two gold, three silver) won at the 2022 Beijing Olympics in the space of eleven days. New record for a French sportsman during the same Winter Olympiadwhich thus equals the similar harvest of five Olympic medals gleaned – at the beginning of the last century – by the archer Julien Brulé (1920) and the fencer Roger Ducret (1924) during the Summer Games!
And QFM counts well continue to mark the history of his sport, starting this winter, during this last month of competition, which may turn out to be just as grandiose as his Olympic fortnight in China.
The Jura player certainly came very close to a legendary and unprecedented Grand Slam of six medals in as many races, but barely digested the disappointment of his bitter 4th place “in chocolate” on the Mass Start of the Beijing Olympics, Quentin Fillon-Maillet had only one objective in the head and in the mouth: the big crystal globe ! This magnificent reward is awarded at the end of the season to each biathlete who wins the general classification of the World Cup (November to March).
General classification (H) as of January 23, 2022 – Biathlon World Cup
More than two victories ahead of his runner-up and the “threat” Johannes Boe already less
Three times in a row ranked 3rd in the final rank for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons, the Franc-Comtois is more than ever in the transition times to offer himself – finally, at 29 years old – this prestigious “big globe” for the first time in his career.
Solid leader in the world rankings Since the start of winter, QFM has a 135-point lead, the equivalent of more than two victories (places/points scale, below) over its current runner-up, Emilien Jacquelin from Isère.
Places/points scale for individual races – Biathlon World Cup
And during the last seven individual races scheduled from March 5 to 20 in Finland, then in Estonia and Norway, the Jura driver will not have unable to manage the “threat” of its main rival of the Olympic Games, five-time medalist in Beijing as well… Johannes Boe5th in the general classification of the 2021-2022 Biathlon World Cup, has already announced – via its Norwegian Federation, this Monday February 28 – to end its season: “Both physically and mentally, the past year has been very difficult because of the coronavirus pandemic and the battle plan put in place to get to the Olympics in good shape,” explains the triple reigning winner of the big crystal globe since 2018!
The last individual races (Men) of the 2021-2022 Biathlon World Cup
- Saturday March 5 (3:30 p.m.): SprintKontiolahti (Finland)
- Sunday March 6 (2:40 p.m.): PursuitKontiolahti
- Thursday March 10 (2:30 p.m.): SprintOtepää (Estonia)
- Saturday 12th of March (1 p.m.): Mass StartOtepää
- Friday March 18 (3:45 p.m.): SprintOslo (Norway)
- Saturday March 19 (3 p.m.): PursuitOslo
- Sunday March 20 (3 p.m.): Mass StartOslo
Only three French people have already won the biathlon world cup
If everything continues to smile on Quentin Fillon-Maillet (already five victories this winter on the World Cup circuit) and allows him to keep his yellow bib as leader of the general classification, the Jurassien will become only the 4th Frenchman to win the big crystal globe of the biathlon world cup since its first edition in 1977-1978!
Martin Fourcade, the Catalan, holds the record: 7 – consecutively! – from 2012 to 2018, just ahead of the 6 coronations of the Norwegian Ole Einar Bjørndalen and the 4 big globes won by the Isérois Raphael Poiree (2000 to 2002, then 2004).
As for the very first “blue-white-red” biathlete to have won the World Cup: it was in 1994a certain Patrice Bailly-Salins… Jura, too, like QFM