Biathlon: Les Bleus Olympic mixed relay champions
At the start of the mixed biathlon relay at the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games, France was the overwhelming favourite. With the best team on the planet, France was the scarecrow with an XXL quartet comprising Eric Perrot, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Lou Jeanmonnot and Julia Simon.
“We have six opportunities in biathlon, all six are important and there is no medal less beautiful than another, nor any format less interesting,” said the man from the Jura region at a press conference just before heading off to Italy for his third Olympic Games. At the Anterselva Biathlon Arena in Antholz (Italy), Les Bleus lived up to their billing.
Although Eric Perrot got off to a good start with a single outlay and passed the baton to Quentin Fillon-Maillet just a few seconds off the lead then held by Norway, the Franc-Comtois, the most successful biathlete on the circuit, had a number of difficult moments on the mats. Missing three targets in the prone and two in the standing, he came close to a correction… but resisted.
Lou Jeanmonnot made the difference in the third stint before Julia Simon brought things to a close.
Halfway through the race, France was third in the rankings, around twenty seconds behind first place. It was then that Lou Jeanmonnot, as patron saint of world biathlon as she is, put the church back in the middle of the village. With a 9/10 in the shooting and above all an impressive speed of movement, the Doubiste native handed Julia Simon the lead by 18 seconds over a trio made up of Norway, Germany and Italy.
It was then that anincredible battle between Julia Simon, Lisa Vittozzi, Franziska Preuss and Maren Kirkeeide began. Imperial on the mats, La Beaufortaine didn’t crack and offered gold to France… without having to fight with her competitors. As a result, Les Bleus become Olympic champions of the mixed biathlon relay for the second time after 2018.
It was the Italians (Tommaso Giacomel, Lukas Hofer, Dorothea Wierer, Lisa Vittozzi), on home soil, who took the silver , while the Germans (Justus Strelow, Philipp Nawrath, Vanessa Voigt, Franziska Preuss) were sunburnt. Norway were fourth, ahead of Sweden, who came last after Sebastian Samuelsson missed his second shot completely.
Video of the mixed relay
Full results
C73C_v1-21- Races, training sessions, shooting trials, ceremonies: the full programme for the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games
- 2026 Olympic Games: the full biathlon programme for the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games
- Anterselva Biathlon Arena: everything you need to know about the Antholz venue, which will host the biathlon events at the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games
- Caroline Colombo: my best memory of… Antholz-Anterselva
- The French team selection for the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games
- The French team’s kit for the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games
- Pierre Mignerey, FFS National Technical Director, outlines the French team’s ambitions for the 2026 Olympics: “It’s clear that we expect the biathletes to be on the podium”.
- Coaches, physiotherapists, physical trainers, press officers, technicians: what kind of support will the French team have at the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games?
- The first photos of Fabien Claude, Eric Perrot, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Emilien Jacquelin, Oscar Lombardot and Emilien Claude training in Antholz
- With Eric Perrot, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Lou Jeanmonnot and Julia Simon: France announces its mixed relay quartet
- “For my personal preparation, I thought it made more sense to do the third relay”: why Lou Jeanmonnot didn’t want to complete the Olympic mixed relay
- “It all seems quite logical”: Corinne Niogret, 1992 Olympic champion in the women’s relay, explains the composition of the French mixed relay.
- How Simon Fourcade and Cyril Burdet justify the order of the mixed relay and the selections of Quentin Fillon-Maillet and Julia Simon
- Camille Bened at the start of the individual race, Océane Michelon in the sprint
- “We don’t have any pressure in terms of results or medals”: the pillar of the Olympic delegation, the French team tries to ignore expectations
- “Lots of enthusiasm and desire, but also caution and humility”: Stéphane Bouthiaux describes the state of mind of Les Bleus on the eve of the mixed relay.
- “If the first race goes well, it’s easy to follow it up”: the mixed relay, a golden opportunity for France to kick off the Olympic fortnight with a bang
- “Everything I’ve seen, experienced and felt means I’m starting these Games a little less naked”: what Peiserot Eric Perrot takes away from his experience as a substitute at the 2022 Olympics.
- Medal records, stars of the fortnight, ambitions: all the issues at stake at the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Games with Delphyne Burlet
