With his Olympic title obtained on Tuesday in the men's biathlon relay, Quentin Fillon Maillet set the record for awards for a Frenchman at the Winter Olympic Games, surpassing Martin Fourcade who is now retired. And he has one race left at the Milan-Cortina Games to do as well as swimmer Léon Marchand in a single Olympics.

Published on: 02/18/2026 - 11:51 Modified on: 02/18/2026 - 12:02

As a symbol: Martin Fourcade presented, on Tuesday February 17, the gold medal in the men's biathlon relay to Quentin Fillon Maillet, which allowed the latter to dispossess him of the record for awards for a Frenchman at the Winter Olympic Games (5 gold medals and 3 silver).

Olympic champion of Milan-Cortina with his teammates Fabien Claude, Émilien Jacquelin and Éric Perrot, Quentin Fillon Maillet entered the history of French sport by becoming the most awarded athlete of the Winter Games with an eighth medal, Martin Fourcade counting seven (6 in gold and 1 in silver).

"I have no words, I never thought a little boy (like me) could hope for eight medals at the Games, it's totally crazy," he told Reuters. He had equaled Martin Fourcade on Friday by winning gold in the sprint before, therefore, overtaking him on Tuesday thanks to the first coronation at the Olympics in the men's relay. An event whose podium has always been denied to the legend of French biathlon, retired since 2020.

“Martin (Fourcade) remains someone who made us dream like today Quentin (Fillon Maillet) makes the youngest people dream,” commented Émilien Jacquelin on France TV.

Alone on his mountain as far as the Winter Games are concerned, “QFM” also joins fencers Roger Ducret and Philippe Cattiau, summer and winter combined.

“The relays are close to my heart, especially since we have had a superb team for a long time. Today we are making the Olympic dream come true,” he reacted on France TV.

A champion who reveals himself on major events

Quentin Fillon Maillet has become accustomed to achieving fantastic results at the Olympic Games. After a complicated first edition in 2018 in Pyeongchang (South Korea), marked by health concerns in his family, the 33-year-old from Jura collected five medals in six races in Beijing, four years later.

Since the start of the Milan-Cortina Games, he has added three awards to his collection: all gold in the mixed and men's relay and then the sprint. In total, he has five Olympic crowns with the pursuit and the individual in 2022.

He will have an additional cartridge with Friday's mass start. In the event of another gold medal, he would become the only French athlete, with swimmer Léon Marchand, to obtain four titles during the same edition of the Games. "I'm not thinking about the record, I'm thinking about the next chance and the next race", however assured the biathlete.

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Since 2022, when it won the general ranking of the World Cup in the wake of the Games, the Habs had shown less consistency with an eighth place at the World Cup in 2023 then a 16th position in 2024.

Fifth last year, like his current ranking after 14 of the 21 events counting for the World Cup, the native of Champagnole (Jura) always reveals himself in major events like his eight medals in the last two world championships, including three individually.

Its 2026 Games are no exception to the rule.

With Reuters

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