The thought of cheese suddenly struck him. At the worst possible moment, Quentin Fillon Maillet was lying on the ground with his gun under his arm and was about to score his hits, when instead of a black slice of cheese, cheese appeared in the rear sight. So he got up and rushed over to the neighboring Käsekeller, just as biathlon is imagined in France. Then: a bite into the yellow happiness, not hearty, but enjoyable, as befits a Frenchman. Back on the mat then: of course a hit.
Fillon Maillet shot the commercial a long time ago, but something else stands out even more than his culinary preferences: the connection to his roots. Fillon Maillet grew up at the foot of the Jura mountains, on the border with Switzerland, and he still lives in the region with the cheese cellar. When he became Olympic champion for the first time last Tuesday, Quentin Fillon Maillet choked back tears in front of the French television cameras, sent greetings to his family, and even after his fourth medal after four races, one word in particular was heard very often: “Thank you “.
President Macron sends congratulations
Quentin Fillon Maillet is a very polite person, and at his first Olympic victory, he revealed his feelings on the press podium before anyone had even asked a question. They are also emotional games for him. The 29-year-old is just soaking up everything he can. There was silver in the mixed relay and in the sprint, gold in the individual and in the pursuit. “It’s beyond my dreams, my wildest hopes,” he says. No Frenchman before him has won four medals at the same Winter Olympics. The first was an occasion for President Emmanuel Macron to tweet congratulations, it was the first for the country at the games in Beijing.
France have been yearning for an answer for the past few years as to who might succeed Martin Fourcade, the great Frenchman who retired in 2020. “The media has been waiting for the new young athlete. It wasn’t easy to do well,” said Fillon Maillet, “but now we’re a very strong team.” The team spirit helped him “to be here today”. They were all still training with Fourcade, including Emilien Jacquelin, the 2020 pursuit world champion. He was believed to be able to succeed Fourcade, but a wrist fracture in pre-season threw him out of rhythm. In the World Cup, Fillon Maillet now pulled ahead of them all with five non-relay wins and two more podiums.
Relentless ski hunter: Quentin Fillon Maillet, here in pursuit over 12.5 kilometers.
(Photo: Hendrik Schmidt/dpa)
In his early years, Fillon Maillet got a nickname that keeps catching up with him, he doesn’t like it. Simon Fourcade gave it to him: Morbac, the crab louse. He should stand for how he attaches himself to his opponents in the races and just won’t let go. As a competitor, he is unyielding. Above all, the direct duel suits him. When snowstorms blew over the shooting range in the pursuit, he still scored 20 goals, of 58 athletes only he and the Italian Lukas Hofer succeeded. “Shooting is about confidence and that comes from doing thousands of reps,” he says. And if you have self-confidence, you can also shoot quickly – another quality that makes you the best biathlete right now.
Fillon Maillet knows that himself, you shouldn’t confuse empathy for your fellow human beings with restraint. He already wants to collect more medals in China, he said after the sprint, “I want to let the French dream”. Although he even corrected himself immediately afterwards, he actually wants to make the whole planet dream.
In 2018 in Pyeongchang he had still experienced a hard time, shortly before the Olympic Games his girlfriend and father-in-law were ill with cancer, the latter later died of it. He could hardly muster the concentration for his sport, he ended up in places 29, 44 and 48. “When you have survived such situations, you think differently about biathlon,” said Fillon Maillet now in Zhangjiakou, and also: “I have stopped being scared.” Fear of the shooting range, fear of failure.
Fillon Maillet wants to shape his sport like the best before it
At the age of four he was already on skis, rushing down the slopes, guided by his father. He came to biathlon through television, Salt Lake City 2002. He has the reputation of being a perfectionist, he builds the stock of his gun himself.
Martin Fourcade is still linked to the sport after his retirement, in China he is present as an expert on French television – and always one of the first to congratulate Fillon Maillet – many hugs are exchanged in Zhangjiakou. “He said he was so happy for me and proud of me,” reported Fillon Maillet after the individual, “Congratulations from him mean a lot to me.” Ole Einar Björndalen, who coaches the Chinese, also congratulated, “These are people who mean a lot to me. They know how much time and effort you have to put in to achieve that.” It touches him, he said, and of course: “I would like to thank you again.”
Fillon Maillet is happy to take on the role of number one, he wants to shape his sport like the best before him. But one thing he really wants: “My parents gave me down-to-earth values,” he said, “I want to remain the same person who grew up in a small village in Gerard.”