In the men’s 20 kilometre individual event at Beijing 2022 on Tuesday, French biathlon star Quentin Fillon Maillet skied like a man possessed to overcome a two-minute penalty deficit and win gold (8 February).
Quentin Fillon Maillet 2022 Winter Olympics
Only Quentin Fillon Maillet Fourcade, also from France, won the gold medal in this event in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, making Fillon Maillet only the second Frenchman to ever do it.
At the weekend’s competition, the 29-year-old won a silver medal in the mixed 4×6-kilometer relay.
After missing two targets in the first standing and second prone sections and losing two minutes in time, Fillon Maillet was forced to rely on a skiing blitz to make up for his shooting errors on the range.
He finished with a time of 48 minutes, 47.4 seconds, over 15 seconds faster than the clean shooter Anton Smolski (49 minutes, 2.20 seconds).
Creating a Craving for Cutlery
While Quentin Fillon Maillet topped the Biathlon World Cup standings heading into his second Winter Olympics, he lacked a big international solo triumph to his record.
Despite having two shots go wide, the dogged Frenchman nevertheless managed to record the course’s quickest time of 43 minutes, 17.2 seconds. He beat the day’s runner-up, Boe, by a full 21 seconds.
With the medals from Beijing still fresh in his mind, Quentin Fillon Maillet will be competing in the men’s 15-kilometer mass start and 4-by-7.5-kilometer relay.
For the next competition, the pressure is off. “The secret to winning gold today is faith in one’s own shooting and skiing abilities,” Quentin Fillon Maillet remarked.
“Today is the Best Day of My Life; I’ve Worked So Hard for this.”
Boe already had an excellent collection of Olympic medals when he won gold in the mixed 4x6km relay in both occasions.
I had a chance for a gold medal, but I messed up the last shot. It’s a difficult task, demanding a lot of effort. We put in our best efforts, and some succeed while others fail,” Boe stated.
I am very pleased. For me, the mixed relay was the best race of the bunch. Because it was so improbable for me to win the race in that fashion, it will always stand out to me as a memorable one. Furthermore, today: a medal is what we come for, therefore I’m ecstatic.
20-Kilometer Individual Race For Men in the Sport of Biathlon
- For the win, it’s Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA) in 48 minutes, 47.4 seconds.
- Second place: Anton Smolski (BLR) 49:02.2
- Third-place, Norway’s Johannes Thingness Boe clocks in at 49 minutes, 18.5 seconds.
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