The apocalypse in the apocalypse. Far be it from us to want to compare the retirement of an athlete, as brilliant as he is, to a pandemic, but the farewells from Martin Fourcade came to bring a final beating to biathlon a few hours after the cancellation of the last leg of the season because of Covid-19. "The king is dead, long live the king", signs the Frenchman after the last victory of his career. The new sovereign Johannes Boe will appreciate. The former is obviously only figuratively dead, and if he is, it is to be reborn elsewhere.
No more shooting ranges, penalty towers, frozen drool stalactites, lucky or unlucky strings, this is a new life that presents itself to Martin Fourcade. It would of course be necessary to occupy the spirit of the now ex-champion - whose nobody has succeeded in predicting the future before Friday - to guess what will be done tomorrow. But by gluing the clues left on the road and using one or two external sources, we managed to see a little in the future of the greatest French in the history of biathlon. So what will our national Martin do in the future?
"Thank you for the man you are", your words for Fourcade after his retirement via @ 20minutesSport https://t.co/FjfvmsDhLU
- 20 Minutes Sport (@ 20minutesSport) March 14, 2020Probably move away from the launch pad
If Simon Fourcade has (partially) converted into biathlon by taking the reins of the France junior team, he imagines “absolutely not” the little brother in the shoes of the coach. "It unites a lot, but I see it more in the search for sponsors, projects. Through these kinds of initiatives, it can bring enormous visibility to our discipline. I think he has a lot to transmit, but that he does not see himself continuing to live on the same rhythm of life. "
No question therefore, of continuing to live with the France group throughout winter. But as QFM told us before the Antholz Worlds, Martin liked to joke saying that he would visit his teammates by the side of the track from time to time. There is surely a bit of truth in there, not impossible that we find him taunting his friends on the snow and sneezing very hard (in his elbow) when Boe shows up on the launch pad alone.
Get more involved in Paris 2024
At the end of the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Games, where the first rumors of a retirement had sprouted after two years of skiing, Martin Fourcade donned for the first time his new suit as president of the Paris 2024 Athletes' Commission. Under his cutting, we find big names like Stéphane Diagana or Guillaume Gille. Strong. The purpose of the commission is to make the voices of the athletes heard in the organization of the 2024 Olympic Games. It meets at least four times a year in one-day plenaries, meetings that Fourcade often finished preparing the day before until the end of the night. because of an already cumbersome sports timetable.
“It's really cool to know that he will be even more present for us, we are satisfied at the Cojo, even if he was already very rigorous and professional before. Under his thumb, the commission worked on the "ideal" Olympic village, building on the good and not so good experiences of the athletes at the Olympic Games. “Martin's great qualities as president is that he knows how to prioritize the right subjects, he knows how to ask the right questions. In plenary, it is he who leads, who raises, who asks the questions… This is what Tony Estanguet wanted, who wanted a strong athletes' commission. She will now be strong with an omnipresent Martin, even if we are assured that biathlon has not hitherto prevented her from theorizing weekly on Paris 2024 via Whatsapp.
Continue to promote biathlon
Simon Fourcade learned like everyone else on Friday - well a little earlier than we did anyway - that his brother was hanging up on skis and the rifle. "I had almost assumed it before, because my brother was starting to speak more and more to the past, perhaps without realizing it." By pushing the thing a little further, we can say that the creation of the Martin Fourcade Nordic Festival, whose first edition was held at the end of the summer in Annecy, was already acting as a transition element between his old life and the one to come.
So happy to reveal the Martin Fourcade Nordic Festival. A unique opportunity to make the city the most beautiful sports ground.
I need you to make this celebration the most successful.
More info on https://t.co/uCRstmzCMv pic.twitter.com/CFihIKXNcf
For those who missed it, the MFNF, as it is already called in jargon, is an event bringing together the crème de la crème in six different events, including an international summer biathlon race with the best in the world. "It took him a lot of effort last year for the first edition, he was the architect of this end-to-end project," says Simon. Wink of history, MGEN, historical partner of the ex-biathlete, sponsored the first edition and will be there for the second (August 29-30, 2020). Something tells us that there will be many others. The insurer will accompany Fourcade at least until 2024, the end date of the contract signed after the 2018 Olympic Games.
Spend more time with loved ones
A harder life than that of a biathlete. Once the season has started, you navigate between races, training, coach trips and air transport. A little break here and there to see your loved ones again, but nothing that can really allow you to enjoy a perfect family life over this period of time. Martin's daughters, Manon and Inès and her partner Hélène, know this only too well. Over time, you get used to it, it seems. But no doubt we want to refocus on fundamentals other than laundering targets in Ostersund by -10 degrees. Simon Fourcade:
"I think that Hélène had absolutely no influence on her decision. She always wanted only Martin's good. This decision is that of Martin. It is certainly a relief for herself if she realizes that Martin will be very busy even without competitions. But I think that the life of an athlete requires making a lot of concessions. It will be a relief in their family life without asking the question of when to return. All this will bring a little more lightness in their married life. "
Martin Fourcade as model husband and papa hen, chick? "In any case, he needs to give himself a little time, to think, to see what he wants to do and to take advantage of the rest. You can't say he didn't deserve it.
Sport
Biathlon: "You have shown that seemingly impossible dreams can become possible", your words for Martin Fourcade after his retirement
- Sport
- Biathlon
- Retirement
- Paris 2024
- Martin fourcade