Biathlon | In Grand-Bornand, Quentin Fillon-Maillet couldn’t find the solution to his shooting problem : “It doesn’t worry me, but it’s painful”.

Biathlon : Quentin Fillon-Maillet still struggling with targets

Nineteenth on Sunday in the closing mass-start of the men’s biathlon World Cup competitions in Le Grand-Bornand (Haute-Savoie), Quentin Fillon-Maillet had another complicated day behind the rifle.

With a timid 15/20 against the targets, the Jurassien was never able to play up front. In the mixed zone, the Frenchman reflected on his week in Bornand, where his shooting difficulties prevented him from fully expressing himself.

• After your frustration with your 13/20 score in the pursuit, did you feel the same in the mass-start?

We had a good chat with Jean-Pierre [Amat] yesterday to put forward some hypotheses and clarify the matter. But it’s difficult to say because, if you look at the technical side of things, the balls that go in are in and the balls that come out are just on the edge. There’s a certain instability and there’s been talk of tension, but today I didn’t feel like I was.

• Can you analyse the day’s shooting?

There are three faults on the dismount and it’s difficult to analyse. It’s difficult because I don’t understand the problem. It’s not easy to work on something you’re not sure of.

• How would you sum up your week in Haute-Savoie?

It was a complicated week in terms of shooting. Physically, there were some interesting things and I enjoyed racing here. That’s what makes me smile, because the results were well below what I’d hoped for. We’re going home for a fortnight to recharge our batteries a bit. I’ve sometimes been more worn out in December in my career. I’m going to get back into training quickly and find some solutions to my shooting, which doesn’t seem too far away. The difficulty is that when we’re training, we’re not in the same conditions as when we’re racing.

• Are you worried about not finding the solution?

I’m not worried about it, but it’s painful because I put a lot of myself into this sport and when it doesn’t pay off when it should, it’s a bit frustrating. That’s the hard law of biathlon shooting, which is very unpredictable. Being physically and mentally ready is no guarantee of success.

(With Florian Burgaud at Le Grand-Bornand)

Read also

• Quentin Fillon-Maillet after his Grand-Bornand pursuit, which finished 24th at 13/20: “It’s annoying because I really feel like I’m in phase and involved behind the rifle”.

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