Paris (AFP)

What place for Martin Fourcade in the Pantheon of French Olympism? With five gold medals, to which must be added the 13 at the Worlds and seven large crystal globes, the biathlete has an imposing list of achievements, but the comparison between champions, disciplines and eras remains very delicate.

Beyond his extraordinary talent, Fourcade, with six events at each major competition (sprint, pursuit, individual, mass start, relay, mixed relay), so as many chances of getting on the highest step of the podium, undeniably benefited from the specificity of biathlon to inflate its collection of trophies, unlike other big names in tricolor sport.

On the Olympic scene, the judokas Teddy Riner and David Douillet could only win one title per edition (2012 and 2016 for Riner, 1996 and 2000 for Douillet), just like the Handball Experts (2008 and 2012) . Similarly, Tony Estanguet, triple Olympic champion in canoeing (2000, 2004, 2012), had no room for error.

On the contrary, Fourcade could catch up with a poor performance to rebound immediately. It is this multiplicity of specialties that had also enabled Jean-Claude Killy to achieve a triple history at the Grenoble Games and a Grand Slam on the three events only on the program in 1968 (downhill, giant, slalom).

For Tony Estanguet, there is no doubt, however: Fourcade "is at the top".

"He is the most successful Frenchman in Olympic history, so he is our great champion. It is not nothing!", According to the current head of the organizing committee for the Olympic Games in Paris-2024.

- Will have -

The great merit of Fourcade is above all to have succeeded in establishing itself and to have become a central figure in tricolor sport despite the confidential nature of biathlon in France.

A simple look at the lines of the charts is not enough to estimate the rank of an athlete in the national hierarchy. The aura of Martin Fourcade goes far beyond the sphere of sport, as evidenced by the success of his work "My dream of gold and snow" (more than 30,000 copies sold in France), translated into several languages, or the beautiful audiences of the L'Equipe channel, which broadcasts biathlon.

Fourcade also knew how to use its charisma and a whole character to impose itself, with a sharp look on the world of sport and current events, in particular doping. This is what enabled him to be designated as the standard bearer of the tricolor delegation to the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018 before setting foot in the proceedings. His post-career is thus already traced since he chairs the Athletes 'Commission of Paris-2024 and he applied for the IOC Athletes' Commission in 2022.

Another rare fact for a French sportsman, his reputation goes far beyond the cramped limits of France, especially in Russia, bringing him closer to Marie-Josée Pérec, triple Olympic champion between 1992 and 1996, who made a passage across the Atlantic, or de Laure Manaudou, Olympic champion in 2004 and true swimming star in the 2000s.

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