Q: Are you still on your little cloud or do you realize, with hindsight, the exceptional season you have just had?
A: "I'm starting to realize all that. During the season, with the series of races, I don't have time to celebrate victories, I always stay focused on the next day's race. Even after the return of the Games, there was the race for the big globe which resumed. So celebrating the big globe at the end, it allows you to release the pressure and enjoy. It's been an incredible season. It's never perfect, because it There are always things to improve but my goal was to bring back an Olympic gold medal and try to play the big globe and I did even better than expected. It's great."
Frenchman Quentin Fillon Maillet poses, on March 23, 2022 in Paris, with his large crystal globe, rewarding the best biathlete of the season JOEL SAGET AFP
Q: Were you surprised by your performance?
to see how they handle this stress under extreme conditions.
"
Frenchman Quentin Fillon Maillet, during the sprint (10 km) at the Beijing Olympics, February 12, 2022 at the national biathlon center in Zhangjiakou Tobias SCHWARZ AFP / Archives
Q: Between the two Olympic gold medals and the big crystal globe, which has the most flavor?
A: "The Olympic medal represents a success in the eyes of the general public because the Olympics are highly publicized. It is a source of enormous pride to have succeeded in this major event in a career. The big crystal globe rewards the best over a season , consistency. So it has more sporting value."
The joy of French Quentin Fillon Maillet, winner of the big crystal globe, rewarding the best biathlete of the season, after the mass start of Holmenkollen, March 20, 2022 in Oslo Terje Bendiksby NTB / AFP / Archives
Q: Has there ever been a moment of doubt this season?
A: "I had a big doubt at the start of the season in Ostersund. I thought I had corrected the problem after also having had a difficult start the previous season, so there was a bit of frustration. But then I reassured myself because I'm a little diesel and things got going little by little. The click happened before the first races of the Games. There were a lot of worries about the conditions in Beijing, the wind, the cold, the constraints Covid. It was quite stressful, you had to be careful not to be positive before. The trip and the arrival protocol were very strict but once I got there, I was pleasantly surprised. There was less wind and colder than I imagined. This gave me confidence before the first races and a real will.I really wasn't scared and that made the difference for the future."
Quentin Fillon Maillet, Olympic pursuit champion at the Beijing Games, on February 13, 2022 at the national biathlon center in Zhangjiakou Jewel SAMAD AFP / Archives
Q: You were nicknamed the "Morbac" but you were more in cannibalistic mode this winter...
A: "We don't choose nicknames but I'm quite proud of what it represents. But I was so focused on my race and then on the one after that I didn't realize what I was doing. to realize, that is to say succeed my childhood dream which was to become the best biathlete in the world."
Frenchman Quentin Fillon Maillet, on the shooting range, during the mixed relay of the Beijing Olympics, February 5, 2022 at the national biathlon center in Zhangjiakou Tobias SCHWARZ AFP / Archives
Q: What are your next goals after winning everything this season and how do you deal with your new status?
A: "My happiness is not only in the quest for a gold medal and the big crystal globe but in running, playing sports, evolving as a biathlete. The goal will be to keep what allowed me to do exceptional races, to find novelty in the preparation. I will have to detach myself from the pressure. People will expect me to reproduce the same thing. When you are first, the requirement goes up a notch."
Quentin Fillon-Maillet, carried in triumph by the French biathlon team, after winning the individual Olympic title (20 km) at the Beijing Games, February 8, 2022 in Zhangjiakou Odd ANDERSEN AFP
Interview by Keyvan NARAGHI
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© 2022 AFP