In March 2020, Martin Fourcade announced his retirement from active biathlon at the end of that season – almost ten years to the day after his first World Cup victory in Kontiolahti. He caught one of his toughest competitors, the Norwegian Johannes Thingnes Bö, on the wrong foot with his retreat.
For a decade, Martin Fourcade was one of the great dominators of the biathlon scene. The Frenchman went down in history as a five-time Olympic champion, 13-time World Champion and 7-time World Cup Total Score winner.
Fourcade regularly fought exciting duels with the Norwegian Johannes Thingnes Bö, also one of the figureheads of the sport. Suddenly being without a rival was harder than expected for the latter.
“His mere presence motivated me, forced me to get better, before and during the race. He was at such a high level,” Boe enthusiastically recalled his long-time adversary in the French sports newspaper “L’Équipe”.
“Only nice guys” in biathlon sport
Without Fourcade he got into a phase of melancholy, of gloom. “His farewell changed a lot, recently there was no longer the big bad guy in front of me,” Bö described the changed situation and joked: “Today there are only nice guys, it will never be the same again!”
At the same time, the 29-year-old made it clear that he also valued his new competitors. Among the current biathletes, whether Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Sebastian Samuelsson, Sturla Holm Lægreid, Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen or Emilien Jacquelin, there are no bad losers. “Everyone has the same attitude, whether they win or lose,” praised Bö.
The experienced Scandinavian recently prepared for the new biathlon season with the Norwegian national team in Oberhof.