Quentin Fillon Maillet currently reigns supreme at the Antholz-Anterselva stadium. Five days after his victory with his friends from the French team in the mixed relay, the 33-year-old Frenchman won a second Olympic title, Friday February 13on the sprint. “QFM” won the race ahead of Norwegians Vetle Christiansen (2nd) and Sturla Laegreid (3rd), and tied, with seven medals at the Games, biathlon legend Martin Fourcade. « It’s the second title for this Olympiad, it’s extraordinary, I don’t know what to say”he congratulated himself at the microphone of France Télévisions.
Olympic vice-champion in this event in Beijing in 2022, the Frenchman left his opponents no chance by achieving a flawless performance on the shooting range. Behind him, Emilien Jacquelin got off to a flying start, and for a long time thought he would finish on the podium, which ultimately eluded him by two tenths of a second. Starting off with a bang, expeditious during his two shots, he finally lost his lead during the last kilometer. “ I admit that I closed my eyes because I was so overwhelmed », reacted the one who promised to « put on a show », Sunday February 15, during the men’s pursuit.
Earlier, Mathis Desloges opened the French medal count for the day by taking second place in the 10 kilometer individual, in men’s cross-country skiing. The 23-year-old Isérois achieved the feat of winning two silver medals on his own, after the skiathlon event, for his first participation in the Olympics. “He is setting himself up to be one of the greatest founders that France has ever had”paid tribute to him by his teammate Hugo Lapalus, 8th in the race.
Although he defied the predictions by finishing in front of several Norwegians, Mathis Desloges was nevertheless beaten by the legend Johannes Klaebo. Winner of the three races he has competed in since the start of these Olympics – skiathlon, sprint and individual – the Norwegian cross-country skier can still dream of achieving his crazy goal of winning six titles in Italy. At 29, he already has eight Olympic gold medals.
French snowboarders upset
The day was much more unsatisfactory for the four French women competing in snowboardcross, some of whom were among the favorites for the final victory. After good first runs, Julia Nirani-Pereira and Léa Casta failed in the semi-finals and only competed in the small final.
The French flag bearer during the opening ceremony, Chloé Trespeuch, and Maja-Li Iafrate Danielsson, stopped in the quarter-finals. « It’s hard, I didn’t prepare to go out in quarters », Reacted the first, visibly moved, at the microphone of France Télévisions. After the failure of their male counterparts the day before, the French snowboarders will have the opportunity to make up for it during the mixed event, scheduled for this Sunday.
In speed skating, five days after his disappointing 5th place in the 5,000 m, Timothy Loubineaud experienced new disillusionment in the 10,000 m event. Despite a good start to the race, the Girondin gradually weakened and finished just off the podium, in a frustrating 4th place. “I have been consistent all season, I have been on the podiums every weekend, but not today”he regretted at the microphone of France Télévisions.
The approaches of Adam Siao Him Fa, the fall of Ilia Malinin
The disappointment continued until late in the evening for the French delegation, with the missed appearance of Adam Siao Him Fa on the Milan ice rink. The 25-year-old Frenchman, 3rd at the end of the short program in figure skating, could legitimately dream of his first Olympic medal. But his fall, from the start of his appearance, immediately discredited him in the eyes of the jury.
The skater finished in 7th place, ahead of the other Frenchman Kevin Aymoz (11th), in a competition during which the 21-year-old American prodigy, Ilia Malinin, completely fell apart. Huge favorite, the latter performed a catastrophic free program and finished 8th, far behind the winner, the Kazakhstani Mikhail Shaidorov.
The day after their inaugural defeat against Switzerland (0-4), the French hockey players went through all the emotions during their second match of the preliminary round, against the Czech Republic. Quickly trailing by two goals, Yorick Treille’s players turned things around to regain the advantage, before sinking at the end of the match to lose (3-6). On Sunday, they will try to create the feat against Canada, leader of the world ranking.
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