Our special correspondent in Beijing
To discover
The Olympic medal table: Norway already in the lead, France unlocks its counter
Full results of the 2022 Winter Olympics
The complete program of the Beijing Olympics 2022
Quentin, how do you feel after this first Olympic title?
Quentin Fillon-Maillet:
It's a lot of emotions and pleasure.
It's just crazy.
I had a lot of confidence during the warm-up but from there to confirm in the race.
With two shooting errors, I did not imagine being able to play for victory.
Except that with a little luck and a lot of desire, it does beautiful things.
But in the end, with little information on the track and my number 11 bib, I gave my best for the whole race.
And surprisingly, it's a victory.
I had an exceptional skiing time.
It's just perfect.
The little boy who dreamed of being an Olympic champion, he realized his dream.
It is something very strong.
And it
Many of those around you say it's the gold medal of hard work…
Yes, it's a lot of investment.
Throughout the preparation, I try to make the difference on my adversaries.
Do I need to train a little more, or sometimes a little less to stay fresh, that depends.
But I want to go into every practice with a purpose.
I don't want to end one by telling myself that I haven't evolved.
It's the long-term work that paid off today.
When I decide to do five more kilometers on a training session, it builds character.
It helps me on the track and on the launch pad.
Before leaving, my girlfriend asked me to win for her and also for her father.
Quentin Fillon Maillet
Did you have a particular racing strategy, especially with regard to Johannes Boe who had left very quickly before you?
Johannes played with his opponents, me first.
Being very fast on the first lap, I don't know his precise form and I don't know what to expect next.
Out of the first shot, I see that he makes a mistake and that it is I who is in front.
He was also very playful in the mixed relay, especially with me during the sprint and that annoyed me a bit.
I was able to take my revenge on him during this individual.
But I only fight against the Norwegians.
And today, it will remain etched in my memory for a moment.
Who did you think of when you were certain that no one would beat you today?
To all my loved ones, especially my girlfriend and my father-in-law who left and went through very difficult times four years ago.
At that time, biathlon took a back seat.
Before leaving, my girlfriend asked me to win for her and also for her father.
It's done.
You can imagine this is all much bigger than biathlon.
It's a way for me to thank them and I'm very proud of it.
And then this medal allows me to thank myself too, because I have made a lot of sacrifices, investments since I was very young.
The Olympic Games are not over, I intend to go for other medals.
Quentin Fillon Maillet
Did you feel the pressure of being number 1 in the World Cup standings? To have the sign of the favorite?
The hardest thing is to manage it in front of the media (
smile
).
Each time, it makes me partly doubt.
But today is the dream I wanted to achieve and I don't want to be afraid of it.
I want to make the most of it.
I'm one of the best and it's me who has to scare others, not me to be afraid of others, pressure or myself.
It wasn't a drag on performance.
On the contrary, I want to surf this super wave.
The Olympic Games are not over, I intend to go for other medals.
The paradox is to see you Olympic champion in the format that you like the least…
It's rather the format that suits me the least, to use the term that suits you best.
But today, I wasn't going to refuse the race because it's the format that suits me the least.
I was not going to limit myself.
There is no good or bad Olympic title (
laughs
).
It's just perfect.
This will de-stress me for the rest, even if I'm not more tense than that.