Biathlon: this summer, Fabien Claude modified his standing shot
Last winter, four years later, Vosgien Fabien Claude returned to the individual podium twice on the biathlon World Cup circuit. These fine results in sprints gave the 31-year-old biathlete from Basse-sur-le-Rupt (Vosges) a new lease of life.
I was on a very good track in December/January before things went off the rails at the end of the season,” he told Nordic Magazine during an online press briefing organised over the last few days to coincide with the Font-Romeu training camp (Pyrénées-Orientales). We’ve found the solution, so I’m aiming to do better and get back on track with the start of last year’s season.
His shooting coach Jean-Pierre Amat agreed to talk about the incident. It was a ballistic problem,” he says. He tended to have an internal cant when shooting from a standing position by tilting his rifle a little. Given that he has sighting risers, the distance between the barrel axis and the sighting axis is quite considerable, around 50 millimetres. So the cant changes the setting, because even if you’re perfectly adjusted with the rifle on the right, you’re moving the bullets to the left with this internal cant.
Full of confidence ahead of the Olympic season
In the final weeks of last season, Fabien Claude, although he had good groupings, saw his hits move to the left of the targets.
The grouping’s boundary balls systematically came out to the left,” continues Jean-Pierre Amat. This position has since been changed and he no longer has a cant. Now, when he shoots upright, three or four bullets out of five go into the recumbent.
A change that gives the 2023 world relay champion extra confidence . “I’m on the eve of the most important season of my career. Even though I’m preparing normally, I have extra motivation because, every morning, this Olympic goal drives me. I know I’m capable of winning this title,” concludes Fabien Claude, full of confidence.
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