Biathlon: next February, Martin Fourcade will have his sixth Olympic gold medal around his neck
A fortnight ago, with the publication of a press release from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Martin Fourcade became the first French athlete to be a six-time Olympic champion. On that day, the Executive Committee of the body based in Lausanne (Switzerland) confirmed the disqualification of Russian Evgeny Ustyugov for doping.
As the first biathlete to cross the finish line of the mass-start at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games, he was dropped from all the rankings. As a result, his runner-up Martin Fourcade takes the gold medal for this race, Slovakia’s Pavol Hurajt the silver and Austria’s Christoph Sumann the bronze.
“It’s obviously a source of pride because it means I’ve been Olympic champion in three different Olympics. It’s something that was close to my heart,” the Catalan explained to Nordic Magazine on Thursday as part of a day organised at the Rossignol factory, his long-time equipment supplier. This medal came as a huge surprise to me at the time. It was my first international podium. I often say to myself that gold would have been too quick and not really deserved.
He went on to say that, in the early 2010s, this silver medal had enabled him to “feed [his] will and [his] concentration for the next four years to have the drive to become Olympic champion in Sochi”.
“I felt it was important to highlight the other medal winners as well, especially the one who was fourth and didn’t live through the experience at the time”.
“This silver medal was part of my career path and now it’s turned into gold. I’m taking it because it’s mine and because I would have deserved it at the time, but there’s no feeling of frustration, because I’ve been lucky enough to win others and to live this moment to the full. It’s a special experience and I’m enjoying it as much as I want to,” he continues. I don’t want to put a negative spin on this experience.
By choice, as he reveals, he will receive his sixth Olympic gold medal in Antholz (Italy), “like the other medal-winning biathletes at the Milan/Cortina 2026 Games”. “Normally, we should have a full podium because it will be a reallocation of the three medals for the three. So it will be a rather traditional ceremony,” he says.
But why did he decide to be crowned at Antholz? I think the site lends itself very well to it,” he replies. It’s one of the meccas of biathlon and I’m particularly proud to receive my medal there. Receiving it in Grand-Bornand in front of all the French fans could have been a great experience, but I preferred to highlight the other medal winners as well, especially the one who came fourth [Austrian Christoph Sumann, editor’s note] and who didn’t live through the experience at the time. Antholz is the best option.
Olympic champion in three different editions
In recent days, Martin Français has become the most successful French gold medallist in the history of the Olympic Games, with six gold medals to his name, one more than judoka Teddy Riner.
“For me, it’s anecdotal because we all do different sports and we don’t all have the same opportunities to win Olympic titles. What’s special for me, I repeat, is to be Olympic champion in three different editions. There are only three Frenchmen to have done that, with Teddy [Riner] and Tony [Estanguet],” he concludes.
The new list of results for the men’s mass-start at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games
BT_C73_V2-1- Martin Fourcade officially six-time Olympic champion
- “I feel a mixture of relief, pride and justice”: Martin Fourcade reacts to the official announcement of his sixth Olympic title
