Biathlon: Eric Perrot’s day of glory has arrived
Three days ago, Eric Perrot won his first individual medal in the pursuit event in Lenzerheide (Switzerland). Built to succeed, the 23-year-old from Peisey-Vallandry (Savoie) entered the big leagues, climbing onto his first major international podium.
“A first career international medal is always a great achievement,” said Marie Dorin-Habert in her debrief of the first week of the World Championships. An achievement, certainly, but what Eric Perrot was looking for this February in Switzerland was a gold medal.
“In my head, it’s a bit like gold or nothing, I admit. It’s always been that way, it’s the title that makes me dream, he admitted to Nordic Magazine a few days before setting off for the canton of Grisons. […] I’m obviously aiming for gold this year, but I wouldn’t necessarily be devastated and terribly disappointed if I came out of the World Championships without a gold medal. In my personal ambition, I’m only aiming for gold, but my goal is to continue building a solid career.”
Best time on skis
After his individual performance on Wednesday afternoon at the Roland Arena, one thing is certain: Eric Perrot will not be leaving the Swiss Confederation unhappy. After his bronze medal in the pursuit, the Peiserot won the world title, his first in his career. To win the title, the 2021 world junior relay champion scored a magnificent 19/20 in his shooting.
It was in the first standing shot that he made his first mistake. Challenged right to the end by Italy’s Tommaso Giacomel (19/20), who was perfect before the second standing shot before missing a target, Eric Perrot, who had the best time on skis, finally won by 52.4 seconds, becoming only the fifth French solo biathlon world champion.
An exceptional performance achieved five years to the day after Martin Fourcade’s last world title. That was in Antholz (Italy)… in the individual event. So things seem to have come full circle and, as Marie Dorin-Habert said in our columns on Tuesday morning, Eric Perrot “has become the legitimate leader of the French team”.
Quentin Fillon-Maillet in bronze, Emilien Jacquelin a long way off
To crown it all, the bronze medal of the day went to Quentin Fillon-Maillet from the Jura (17/20). He got off to a poor start with two errors on the first run, but the Grandvallier, reigning Olympic champion in the speciality, put in a sublime finish to claim the medal 1 min 59 sec 5 behind his compatriot.
The ceremony of flowers was completed by Finland’s Olli Hiidensalo (20/20), Switzerland’s Niklas Hartweg (18/20) and Slovenia’s Jakov Fak (19/20). Philipp Horn (18/20), Michal Krcmar (18/20), Endre Stroemsheim (19/20) and Tarjei Boe (18/20) made it into the top 10, while Sturla Holm Lægreid (18/20), in fifteenth place, and Johannes Thingnes Boe (15/20), in twentieth, were disappointing.
The other French players were Fabien Claude (16/20) in twenty-first place and Emilien Jacquelin (15/20) in sixty-seventh.
Perrot the maestro 👑
Eric Perrot (19/20) new INDIVIDUAL WORLD CHAMPION in Lenzerheide 🤩🥇
Magnificent race on skis and behind the rifle by our young tricolore 🇫🇷
📸 Nordic Focus pic.twitter.com/iHUrhcUaSm– FFS – Fédération Française de Ski (@FedFranceSki) February 19, 2025
Full results
- The full programme for the World Championships in Lenzerheide, the highlight of the 2024/2025 season
- Léna Arnaud: my best memory of… Lenzerheide
- Swiss biathlete Arnaud Du Pasquier presents the Roland Arena, the Lenzerheide stadium used for the 2025 World Championships
- Delphyne Burlet on the challenges of the Lenzerheide world championships
- Lenzerheide: France, with Julia Simon, Lou Jeanmonnot, Eric Perrot and Emilien Jacquelin, retain their world mixed relay title
- “We couldn’t have got off to a better start than this”: the perfect start for the French team, which won gold in the mixed relay at the world championships in Lenzerheide.
- “It was fun”: during the mixed relay at the World Championships in Lenzerheide, Britain’s Shawna Pendry was surprised to ski with her idol Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold.
- Lenzerheide: Justine Braisaz-Bouchet’s day of glory, crowned world sprint champion ahead of Franziska Preuss and Suvi Minkkinen
- “The wheel turns”: how Justine Braisaz-Bouchet became world sprint champion in Lenzerheide after a difficult January
- “I’m very proud”: Maya Cloetens tells Nordic Magazine how she made Belgian biathlon history by finishing eighth in the sprint at the World Championships in Lenzerheide.
- Lenzerheide: Johannes Thingnes Boe crushes the sprint to win a fourth world gold medal in the discipline, Quentin Fillon-Maillet gets a tan
- Lenzerheide: Johannes Thingnes Boe wins the sprint to become the most gold medal-winning biathlete in the history of the World Championships
- “Winning a first medal feels great”: bronze in the Lenzerheide sprint, Quentin Fillon-Maillet kicks off his World Championships in style
- 65th in the Lenzerheide sprint, Gaia Brunello achieved Brazil’s best result at the Worlds: “A dream come true”.
- Lenzerheide: untouchable at 20/20, Franziska Preuss wins the world pursuit title, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet takes bronze
- “I was three metres too short”. Justine Braisaz-Bouchet was close to silver in the pursuit at the world championships in Lenzerheide.
- Lenzerheide: Johannes Thingnes Boe pursuit world champion ahead of the astonishing Campbell Wright, Eric Perrot in bronze
- The greatest of all time: gold in the pursuit at Lenzerheide, Johannes Thingnes Boe is the most successful individual biathlete in history
- Lenzerheide: Eric Perrot, the eleventh French medallist in an individual World Championship race
- “I had to fill it up and I filled it up”: how Eric Perrot climbed twelve places to win bronze in the pursuit at the World Championships in Lenzerheide
- Lenzerheide: what do they say about Campbell Wright’s exploits in New Zealand?
- “He had to change his shooting line because of a mistake by another biathlete”: why did the jury reclassify Jakov Fak in sixth place in the pursuit at the World Championships in Lenzerheide?
- Franco-British Chloé Dupont, currently competing in the World Championships in Lenzerheide: “It’s very motivating”.
- Lenzerheide: Marie Dorin-Habert reviews the first week of the World Championships
- Five medals in five races, including two golds: Les Bleus get off to a flying start at the world championships in Lenzerheide
- Thanks to the title won by Justine Braisaz-Bouchet in Lenzerheide, the French women’s team will have five quotas for the sprint at the 2027 World Championships in Otepää, unless…
- Lenzerheide: Tiril Eckhoff and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen sound the alarm after Norway’s poor performances in the first week of the World Championships
- “She’s a metronome”: Lou Jeanmonnot, unbeaten this winter in the format, is the big favourite in the individual event at the World Championships in Lenzerheide.
- Lenzerheide: Julia Simon crowned individual world champion, bronze for Lou Jeanmonnot
- Lenzerheide: Julia Simon, the fourth French individual world champion
- “Nothing could take me out of my race”: how Julia Simon became individual world champion for the first time in Lenzerheide
- “I didn’t take it well when I missed on the first shot”: after a difficult start to her individual competition in Lenzerheide, Lou Jeanmonnot bounced back to win bronze at the World Championships.
- Lenzerheide: Julia Simon’s photo album with her gold medal from the individual event at the World Championships
- Lou Jeanmonnot’s photo album with her bronze medal in the individual event at the World Championships in Lenzerheide
- “I’m speechless”: a fantastic second in the individual World Championships, Ella Halvarsson makes Sweden shine in Lenzerheide
- “I lost my concentration”: in contention for a new title at the World Championships in Lenzerheide, Franziska Preuss broke down on the last shot of the individual event.
- “I’ve been unlucky again”: 71st in the individual event at the World Championships in Lenzerheide, Anamarija Lampic broke the elastic band on her rifle in mid-shot.
