(Video) French and Norwegian Atheltes’ FIFA Battle Night Before Biathlon Goes Viral

In the men’s biathlon 4*7.5km relay, France won their first-ever gold medal in the event while Norway and Sweden finish second and third.

(Video) French and Norwegian Atheltes’ FIFA Battle Night Before Biathlon Goes Viral

Fabien Claude, Quentin Fillon Maillet, Eric Perrot, and Emilien Jacquelin led France to their first-ever gold in men’s biathlon relay defeating close friends Norwegians in a close race (Image and, Screengrab via X)

In Short
  • France defeated Norway in a FIFA video game showdown the night before their biathlon relay competition.
  • Eric Perrot led the French team to victory in the men's 4*7.5km relay, securing their first gold medal in this event.
  • France has achieved its best biathlon performance since the sport's introduction in 1960, with multiple medals across events.

On Tuesday, France and Norway were competing against each other in the men’s biathlon relay. The night before, however, they were hanging out in the Olympic Village, having a FIFA showdown.

The French team ended up defeating the Norwegians in the video game, with Eric Perrot and Fabien Claude in charge of the controllers. As a small community, the biathlon athletes share a close bond. After his victory in the men’s individual, Norway’s Johan-Olav Botn shared the first piece of the cake with Perrot, who’s half-Norwegian and speaks the language, before he had one for himself.

A day later, they also defeated them in the 4*7.5km men’s relay. The thrilling race saw France, Norway, and Sweden taking the lead at different legs in the blazing competition. The Norwegians had an early lead in the race with Martin Uldal, while the French trailed behind after Fabien Claude’s wobbly start. However, Botn’s trouble in the shooting range gave France’s Emilien Jacquelin to push ahead with a two-second lead.

Quentin Fillon-Maillet lost the lead at certain splits but finished with a lead when Eric Perrot started the final 7.5km. Perrot, after eighty minutes, charged into the finish line 9.8 seconds ahead of Norway’s Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen, securing a historic first for the French. The Swedes finished almost a minute later.

After the race ended, Perrot addressed that winning the gold had been a long time coming for France.

I was so, so proud to take it for France; so many people behind us; happy to have it home now…I have dreamed about it (Relay gold medal) so many times. It is something else beyond an individual race. It’s about history for us, the team. It meant a lot to us. I don’t have many words to describe it. It means a lot for France.

They have won silver once in Beijing in 2002 and three bronze medals in Lillehammer (1994), Turin (2006), and Vancouver (2010).

Germany and the United States of America came in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

France has seen a meteoric rise in biathlon in Rasen-Antholz

In Anterselva Biathlon Arena, the French have asserted a strong dominance with 4 golds, 3 silvers, and 2 bronzes. In the men’s individual events, Quentin Fillon-Maillet upgraded his silver in the men’s sprint to a gold medal. Eric Perrot finished with a silver in the individual, while Emilien Jacquelin won a bronze in the pursuit.

Eric Perrot (Image via Reuters)
Eric Perrot (Image via Reuters)

There’s still an event left, the mass start, scheduled for Friday. Julia Simon and Lou Jeanmonnot won gold and silver in the individual. Jeanmonnot also won a bronze in the sprint, where she was joined by teammate Oceane Michelon on the podium with a silver. Along with Simon, Perrot, and Quentin Maillet, Jeanmonnot also won a gold medal in the mixed relay. With three events to be completed, the French already have their best performance in biathlon since the sport was formally introduced in 1960.

With Mathis Desloges, the French have also seen a spectacular run in cross-country skiing, where they have won three silver medals. On the other hand, Norway continues to lead the medal tally after the end of Day 12. The French are seventh, ahead of Sweden and neighboring Switzerland.

As Day 12 comes to a close, here is the updated medal tally of the Winter Olympics.

NOCGoldSilverBronzeTotal
Norway148931
Italy941124
USA610521
Netherlands66113
Germany58720
Austria58417
France57416

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