Biathlon: the words of Léo Carlier, Flavio Guy and Camille Grataloup-Manissolle after their hat-trick
The men’s mass-start 60 at the World Youth Biathlon Championships in Östersund (Sweden) ended late on Monday morning with a magnificent hat-trick of podium finishes for the French. Léo Carlier won gold ahead of Flavio Guy and Camille Grataloup-Manissolle.
The three heroes of the day tell Nordic Magazine about their achievement.
Léo Carlier, gold medallist
“I’m very happy with this race! It was really complicated, with a lot of wind on the standing shot. I dropped two bullets on the first downward shot, which put me in around twenty-fifth place. As a result, I had to chase my tail and try to get back into the swing of things so that I could miss as few shots as possible and hope to move up in the rankings. I managed to hit three good shots that put me back in front, and even in the lead after the last shot.”
“In the final, as I knew I was in the lead, I gave it everything I had! I didn’t know who was behind so I gave it my all until I realised that it was good and that I was going to win. In Östersund, there’s a round trip where you can see who’s behind and that’s when I could see that Flavio [Guy] and Camille [Grataloup-Manissolle] were there. I was really pleased with that hat-trick! At the finish, when I saw my two mates, it was incredible. We couldn’t have imagined it. It’s amazing to finish on the podium with Flavio [Guy], who I’ve been training with since I was an U17.”
“My parents come to see me very often, but my little brother is there too, so it’s really great to get this result in front of my family. It was really incredible, especially as there were so many people all along the track, including parents and coaches! It’s my first world title, I’ve been around and I knew that the mass-start was a format that I really enjoyed. The gold medal is the icing on the cake. There’s still the relay to win a medal in every race!”
Flavio Guy, silver medallist
“The conditions were difficult, especially for our standing shots where we had a lot of wind. In general, our race didn’t go very well! I was on the attack quite a lot from the start because the Pole [Grzegorz] Galica went off very quickly and I got into his skis not to let him go. We dug in on the rest of the riders. I did two very good flat runs with a 10/10 and I arrived on my first standing run with a lead of almost 50 seconds, which is a nice cushion if I ever had to do any laps.”
“The first stand-up was complicated with three laps, but I came out second close to [Lukas Tannheimer]. In the second stand-up, I made three mistakes again, but I was 20 seconds behind Léo [Carlier] and 20 seconds ahead of Camille [Grataloup-Manissolle]. I knew I was on the podium and it was a real pleasure!”
“At these World Championships, I was pleased with my individual performance, with a fine top 10, then disappointed with my sprint, where I wasn’t at my best at all. I really wanted to get my revenge for the mass start. The icing on the cake was this exceptional hat-trick!”
Camille Grataloup-Manissolle, bronze medallist
“I’m quite happy with my race, even if the standing shots didn’t necessarily go well. It was windy and there was also some stress on the last shot! So, overall, I’m really happy with this mass-start. I felt really good on skis.”
“When I came out of the shooting range, I didn’t think I’d be third and it was a technician who told me that. At the start of the round, I was thinking more about not getting caught than about the triple, especially as we didn’t know how much time they were going to take off [Grzegorz] Galica [who was hampered on her first standing shot, editor’s note].”
“I didn’t know if he was going to pass me or not. I went flat out on the last lap and I saw that Claire [Breton] had a big smile on her face and didn’t look [worried] when she got there. So I was able to make the most of it! It was really good in the finish area with the young guys. I’d been going round from the start and I really wanted this individual medal at the World Youth Championships.”
- The full programme for the World Youth and Junior Championships in Östersund
- With Voldiya Galmace-Paulin, Amandine Mengin, Gaëtan Paturel and Anaëlle Bondoux: the French team selection for the 2025 World Youth and Junior Championships in Östersund.
- Östersund: despite a ruptured ulnar collateral ligament in her left thumb, Anaëlle Bondoux will be lining up at the start of the World Junior Championships
- After a difficult start to the season, Antonin Guy has bounced back to secure his place at the World Youth Championships: “It’s like a reward for all the work we’ve put in since mid-January”.
- “We had to fight right to the end to get this ticket”: how Alice Dusserre qualified for the World Youth Championships in Östersund by the skin of her teeth.
- “I’m going there with the desire to take responsibility for my biathlon”: at the Junior Worlds in Östersund, Corentin Jacob returns to international competition two years after his last selection
- Östersund: Ilona Plechacova individual world youth champion, Lola Bugeaud sixth
- Östersund World Youth Championships: Antonin Guy in individual gold for the second year running, Léo Carlier in bronze
- “A real achievement”, “It feels great”: Antonin Guy and Léo Carlier, gold and bronze medallists in the individual event at the World Youth Championships in Östersund, talk about their race.
- Östersund: Célia Henaff becomes world junior individual champion, silver for Amandine Mengin
- Junior Cup: Bresse’s Amandine Mengin, second in Östersund, wins the individual globe
- Célia Henaff, new world junior individual champion: “A first victory, a first medal, a first 20/20”.
- “I’m really shocked”: Amandine Mengin, silver medallist in the individual event at the Junior Worlds and winner of the small globe, wasn’t expecting this…
- Östersund: Sivert Gerhardsen individual world junior champion, Edgar Geny eighth
- Östersund Youth World Championships: Louise Roguet, Lola Bugeaud, Camille Grataloup-Manissolle and Léo Carlier bronze medallists in the mixed relay won by Norway
- Östersund: despite four penalty laps and a fall, Voldiya Galmace-Paulin, Amandine Mengin, Gaëtan Paturel and Edgar Geny are runners-up in the junior mixed relay.
- “Even with four laps to go, we’re capable of going for a medal”: the words of Voldiya Galmace-Paulin, Amandine Mengin, Gaëtan Paturel and Edgar Geny, silver medallists in the mixed relay at the World Junior Championships.
- Östersund Youth World Championships: Louise Roguet takes silver in the sprint, Norway’s Martine Skog takes gold
- “I tried to be more relaxed in the downhill, doing the opposite of the mixed relay where I was so stressed…”. How Louise Roguet picked up the gauntlet to become runner-up in the world junior sprint championship.
- Östersund: Léo Carlier wins silver in the sprint at the Youth World Championships, Germany’s Lukas Tannheimer takes the title
- “I never thought I’d start the World Championships this way”: three medals in three races in Östersund for Léo Carlier, silver in the sprint
- Östersund Junior World Championships: Amandine Mengin takes bronze in the sprint, the title goes to Austria’s Anna Andexer
- “I didn’t even know there were globes”: three-time medallist at the Junior World Championships in Östersund, Amandine Mengin will be competing for the Junior Cup’s big globe in the Mass-Start 60.
- Östersund: Norway’s Haavard Tosterud world junior sprint champion, Axel Garnier ninth
- Östersund: Louise Roguet world youth champion in the Mass-Start 60
- “When I cross the line, there’s a lot of joy”: Louise Roguet tells Nordic Magazine how she became World Youth Champion in the Mass-Start 60 in Östersund.
- Östersund Youth Worlds: Léo Carlier crowned world champion in the mass-start 60 ahead of Flavio Guy and Camille Grataloup-Manissolle
- In the wind of Östersund, Anaëlle Bondoux is runner-up in the Junior 60 mass-start, Sara Andersson takes gold on home soil
- Junior Cup: second in Östersund, Anaëlle Bondoux wins the small mass-start globe
- Östersund Junior Worlds: Kasper Kalkenberg golden in the Mass-Start 60, Gaëtan Paturel sixth
