The French biathlon team won a historic first gold medal in the men's relay at the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. This victory allowed the tricolor delegation to break the national record for the number of medals won during a single edition of the Winter Games. In Anterselva, the French outpaced Norway and Sweden, despite problems at the start of the race. Polish biathletes finished further back, not joining the fight for top positions.

Historic triumph of biathletes

The French men's relay team won an Olympic gold medal for the first time in history, outpacing the decorated teams from Norway and Sweden at the finish.

France's medal record

Thanks to the victory in Anterselva, France reached a total of 16 medals, marking their best result in the history of the Winter Olympic Games.

Dominance of Jens Oftebro

Norwegian Nordic combined athlete Jens Luraas Oftebro won his second gold in Milan, this time in the large hill event.

The eleventh day of Olympic competition in the Italian Alps went down in the history of French sport. Biathletes Fabien Claude, Emilien Jacquelin, Quentin Fillon Maillet, and Eric Perrot won the country's first-ever Olympic title in the men's relay. Until now, despite numerous individual successes, the gold medal in this specific event had eluded the French. The success is even more impressive because Fabien Claude, on the first leg, recorded as many as five shooting errors, which pushed the team to a distant position. However, his well-performing teammates made up the deficit, securing a historic triumph over second-place Norway and third-place Sweden. The biathletes' victory became the sixteenth medal for France in Milan and Cortina, setting a new record for the nation in the history of Winter Olympic participation. The previous best result was surpassed with five days remaining in the Games. The medal ceremony had a special character, as the gold medals were presented to the compatriots by legendary Martin Fourcade. French biathlon has dominated world arenas for years, but in the men's relay since the event's debut in 1968, France has repeatedly lost the fight for gold to Norway or Germany, winning only silver and bronze medals. „We were always missing that one element in the relay, but today my boys showed they are true warriors, even when the start of the race seemed like a disaster.” — Simon Fourcade On the same day, emotions also accompanied the competition in Nordic combined. Norwegian representative Jens Luraas Oftebro claimed his second gold medal at these Games, triumphing in the large hill event. After the jumping series, Japanese athlete Ryota Yamamoto led, having delivered an impressive jump of 136 meters, but in the 10 km pursuit race, he had to concede to his rivals. On the podium alongside Oftebro stood Austrian Johannes Lamparter and Finn Eero Hirvonen. The Polish biathlon relay team and figure skater representative Jekaterina Kurakowa continued their competitions, striving to improve the Polish team's tally after the earlier success of the ski jumpers. [{"strona1": "France", "strona2": "Norway", "wynik1": 1, "wynik2": 0, "runda": "Final"}, {"strona1": "Norway", "strona2": "Sweden", "wynik1": 1, "wynik2": 0, "runda": "Final"}] Nordic Combined Results (Large Hill/10 km): 1. Jens Luraas Oftebro — 24:12.6; 2. Johannes Lamparter — +8.4; 3. Eero Hirvonen — +15.2

Mentioned People

  • Fabien Claude — Member of the gold medal biathlon relay team, who ran the first leg.
  • Emilien Jacquelin — French biathlete, a key athlete in the gold medal relay.
  • Quentin Fillon Maillet — Decorated French biathlete, Olympic champion in the relay.
  • Eric Perrot — Young French biathlete, anchoring the winning relay.
  • Jens Luraas Oftebro — Norwegian Nordic combined athlete, winner of two gold medals in 2026.
  • Martin Fourcade — Biathlon legend who presented medals to the winning relay team.