Winter Olympics 2026: France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet wins seventh medal with gold in men’s 10km sprint biathlon
France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet claimed a seventh Olympic medal of his career, and second gold of Milano Cortina 2026, after winning the men’s 10km sprint biathlon on Friday (13 February) with a time of 22:53.1. He now ties Martin Fourcade as the joint most decorated French Winter Olympian.
Norway’s pair of Christiansen Vetle Sjaastad (23:06.8) and Sturla Holm Laegreid (23:09.0) claimed silver and bronze respectively at the Antholz-Anterselva Biathlon Arena in front of a packed, enthusiastic crowd that saw Olympic history made with all podium finishers hitting all 10 targets.
Another Frenchman, Jacquelin Emilien, and Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelsson also went clear in the two shooting rounds, with Emilien’s rapid fire five shots in the second shoot, the fastest of the season. The two-time Olympic silver medallist proceeded to set off on the final ski leg throwing his sunglasses and hat into the snow as he chased down his team-mate’s finishing time before fading in the latter stages.
Fillon Maillet, who now has four Olympic gold medals to his name, was the first of the seeds to go and set a standard that no one who followed could match.
“That is my happiness,” the 33-year-old said. “I love it. I love this sport, and it is everything today.”
On adding to his five medals won at his debut Olympic Games at Beijing 2022, the Champagnole native said: “It is different. (In Beijing) it was a new title. Today there was a lot of emotion and it is different. I want to dedicate my race today to my girlfriend because we are expecting a baby, and she has supported me for many years and helped me be here today.”
“It was maybe the toughest race of my life,” said Vetle Sjaastad on claiming a third Olympic medal after winning gold and bronze at Beijing 2022. “I had to dig really, really deep, but luckily, I had trained on that yesterday, on some sprints at the stadium here. Maybe it was the race of my life.”
Holm Laegreid, meanwhile, had a rather less emotional interview than after winning bronze in the 20km on Tuesday. “I took it one step at a time and didn’t look too far ahead. I worked with what I could do here.”
For full results, check here.
