It has not been the easiest of seasons for the French men, with their protagonists Quentin Fillon Maillet and Emilien Jacquelin struggling for much of the first half of the season. Fillon Maillet rediscovered his best shape just in time for the World Championships in Nove Mesto and Jacquelin started moving closer to the top again. Once the BMW IBU World Cup Tour moved overseas to Soldier Hollow and Canmore, the 28-year-old returned to the podium. Jacquelin finished the winter with six consecutive Top 5 finishes, including a second and two third places, finding consistency despite – or maybe even because of some of his no-holds-barred shooting and skiing performances.
We used the time in Soldier Hollow to sit down with Jacquelin and understand what drove him to quit his season earlier last year, what drives him now, both in biathlon and in life and why the best – and most fun – part of his career might just be yet to come.
“It was really hard to know if I love biathlon or not I was maybe in Italy this time, just looking at cycling, eating pizza, drinking beer. Like that it could have been a great holidays - but it was not. Now, 12 months after that I really feel good and I love this sport and I want to enjoy it and to do it the best that I can.”
Photo: Manzoni/IBU