Big favorites for the event, the biathlon Blues did not tremble this Sunday. Carried by two superb relays from Lou Jeanmonot and Julia Simon to finish the job, the French delegation won its first gold charm of these Milan-Cortina 2026 Games, after Mathis Desloges’ silver in the skiathlon, despite a scare in the middle of the race.
It all started well, with Éric Perrot, off to a flying start. In line with his form in the World Cup, he came out in the top 3 after the prone shot (5/5). And despite a standing fault, he passed the baton to Quentin Fillon Maillet in second position, behind Norway.
Quentin Fillon Maillet in shooting difficulty
The Jura native, very strong on skis, returns to the race lead. Except that his clumsiness at shooting sends a shiver of fear through the French camp. After three missed balls, he still managed to put in his three draw balls and avoid the penalty ring. Standing up, QFM made two new mistakes and left the shooting range in 4th place, 20 seconds behind the surprising Germany.
Then it’s time for the ladies. The brilliant Lou Jeanmonnot, yellow bib for the World Cup, draws once on the prone shot and puts everyone on the skis. Starting more than 20 seconds behind Norway, she came out on top with 18 seconds ahead of Norway, Germany and Italy and launched Julia Simon perfectly to conclude. Imperial in shooting (10 out of 10), the Albertvilloise crossed the line with a considerable lead over Italy (+ 25”8) and Germany (+ 1’05”3).
