The French Olympic champion Quentin Fillon Maillet wants to continue his biathlon career even in old age. He pursues an ultimate goal.
Quentin Fillon Maillet has ended the speculation about his future: The Frenchman announced in an interview with the “AFP” news agency that he doesn’t just want to continue his career after the World Cup season has now ended. The 33-year-old even wants to continue until the 2030 Winter Olympics.
Because: The upcoming Winter Games will take place in France – they should represent a very last, big highlight for Fillon Maillet.
“In Beijing I was 29 years old. I asked myself whether I would still be able to perform on skis in four years,” said the veteran: “I showed that I am still very fit and was even one of the best performers on skis at the Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina. So why not at the age of 37?”
In Antholz, Quentin Fillon Maillet won four Olympic medals, including three gold medals (sprint, relay, mixed relay). He had already won gold in the individual and pursuit in Beijing 2022, and he is also a six-time world champion and overall World Cup winner in 2021/22.
The games in the French Alps are now definitely his “next goal,” he said: “If I commit to a four-year period, then not just for two weeks with a rather small chance of success, but for the entire project.”
Biathlete Fillon Maillet: “This is really extraordinary”
There had recently been speculation about his resignation, especially because he and his partner are expecting their first child at the end of July.
His national coach Simon Fourcade also expressed uncertainty in an article for “La Dauphiné” as to whether his protégé would remain in the team despite the addition to the family. “He will have to take care of his role as a father, although the Games are probably one of his goals,” he wrote in a column.
Fillon Maillet now emphasized: “I love Lydie (his partner, the Red), I love my sport and I don’t want to have to choose between one or the other. That’s possible. Other biathletes have done it, like Justine Braisaz-Bouchet, Johannes Thingnes Bö and Martin Fourcade. This task will give me a lot. Becoming a parent is more common, becoming an Olympic champion is rarer, but both at the same time – that’s really extraordinary.”
