Biathlon: France and Emilien Jacquelin close to the perfect relay
On Sunday, during themen’s relay at the Biathlon World Cup in Kontiolahti (Finland), the French team came within a whisker of achieving a feat never before seen in the long history of the discipline: completing a 40/40 relay without using any picks.
After perfect runs by Fabien Claude, Quentin Fillon-Maillet and Eric Perrot, it was Vertacomicor Emilien Jacquelin ‘s turn to finish the race. After a perfect prone shot, it was he who took to the Finnish shooting range to validate the unthinkable 40/40 for the French team.
“There was inevitably a little apprehension when I got to my feet, the Dauphinois told the mixed zone afterwards. I was already thinking about it when I started my run, but I wanted to force myself to stay focused and not think about it. With the first shot, I concentrated and did what I had to do. I really thought we could do it and, 3 metres from the mat before standing up, I felt a gag… and I immediately thought of that. I was shaking a lot.”
An iconic celebration as you cross the finish line
When he missed a target, Emilien Jacquelin saw his shot fall, a switch taking place between the desire to make history with a perfect score and the desire not to wreck the relay with a completely missed standing shot. “In the end, all’s well that ends well and we won a fine relay with just two picks, which is rare in our sport,” he enthuses.
After managing Les Bleus’ fine lead in the final lap, Emilien Jacquelin, a great basketball fan, ended the race by imitating US superstar Stephen Curry’s signature “Night Night” celebration.
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- “I stuck to the plan”: a perfect shot, Eric Perrot had an ideal start to the season in the mixed relay in Kontiolahti.
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- Kontiolahti: the technical problem that prevented Simon Eder’s Austria from securing a podium finish in the mixed singles relay
- How Julia Simon experienced her first World Cup race of the winter: “It was a bit like releasing the wildcats, it was electric”.
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- The French mixed relays lining up for Saturday’s World Cup opener in Kontiolahti
- Kontiolahti: an opening day without Johannes Thingnes Boe, Hanna Oeberg, Endre Stroemsheim, Anna Gandler, Sturla Holm Lægreid, Johannes Kuehn or Tarjei Boe
- Kontiolahti: the reasons why the French men’s team is starting the World Cup with just four biathletes
- Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet and Antonin Guigonnat victorious, Italy triumphant, Martin Fourcade rested: what happened the last time mixed World Cup races were held in Kontiolahti
- Top 3 nations cup target for France: the hunt for Olympic quotas for Milan/Cortina 2026, the other key issue of the 2024/2025 season
