With the Mixed Relay wiping away some of the Milano/Cortina Olympic nerves, the individual medal chase ramps up with the Men’s 20 km Individual and Women’s 15 km Individual Tuesday and Wednesday. French teammates and World Cup Total Score leaders Eric Perrot and Lou Jeanmonnot top the list of medal contenders.

Challenging 1600 Meters Altitude

Individual competitions at Antholz’s 1600 metres altitude make a challenging event more intimidating. The thin air adds fatigue which also can affect the latter shooting bouts.

Looking back to Beijing, defending Olympic Champion Quentin Fillon Maillet started early, had two penalties but skied very fast to win the 2022 Gold medal. This time around, careful, clean or one-penalty shooting with steady but not overly aggressive skiing will likely carry the day.

Five Men to Watch

Eric Perrot, currently leading the World Cup Total Score is a solid favorite. The 2025 IBU 20 km Individual World Champion hit 66 of his last 70 shots before these Games and won the Nove Mesto Short Individual with a perfect 20-for-20. Perrot has been very consistent all season and stays extremely cool in the most stressful situations.

Johan-Olav Botn shot lights out and won three times before getting sick at then end of December. Despite being an Olympic rookie, he has the tools to challenge if his form returns.

Tommy Giacomel won Silver behind Perrot last season at Lenzerheide and was in Yellow until Perrot reclaimed it last month. The young Italian has the ski speed and focus to challenge, but in general is a notch below Perrot on the range.

Fillon Maillet, arguably the “King of Four-stage Competitions” owns six podiums at Antholz and “likes everything about the place.” The quietly determined Fillon Maillet will dig deep to defend his Olympic title.

The wild card is Lukas Hofer who actually outshot Perrot in the last four competitions, going 67 of 70 and has improved with each recent competition. Hofer knows this venue better than anyone, having trained here since he was a child. He is a long shot…but what a better place to pull off an Olympic medal.

Beyond this group, think the steady shooting of Sturla Holm Laegreid as next in line.

Five Women to Watch

Like Perrot, his teammate in Yellow, Lou Jeanmonnot is at the top of the list. She is shooting at her typical 91% rate, skiing well, and was a very close second in the Nove Mesto Short Individual. “The strong start to the season has given me a lot of confidence; the Yellow Jersey doesn’t guarantee anything for the future.” Although an Olympic rookie, she is the lady to beat.

Teammate Justine Braisaz-Bouchet won in Nove Mesto for her first win of the season, as she did before her Beijing Mass Start Gold. Braisaz-Bouchet is a powerhouse on the tracks and if she can shoot like Nove Mesto, the sky is the limit.

Lisa Vittozzi is laser-focused on these Milano/Cortina home Olympics. The 2024 IBU 15 km Individual World Champion shoots as well as Jeanmonnot and has solid Olympic experience.

2018 Olympic Champion Hanna Oeberg had three podiums in January before stepping away for final Olympic preparations. With four 15 km Individual victories in her career, Hanna knows how to race this distance better than almost everyone else in the field. “This is my third Olympics, but I still feel that I have a lot left to show. I’m here to compete for medals and to create new moments, not to look back.” If her shooting is on, watch the Swede go for a medal.

Olympic rookie Camille Bened is the wild card, with the tools to secure a medal. Although the Nove Mesto Short Individual was a disaster (62nd, 5 penalties), last year’s IBU Cup Total Score winner shot clean in three of her last four competitions.

After these five, think the last year’s Total Score titlist Franziska Preuss or the powerful skier Elvira Oeberg.

Beyond the favorites, there will be a surprise or two because as always, “It’s biathlon; anything can happen.”

Photos: IBU/Vianney Thibaut, Nordic Focus