Fillon Maillet takes gold in men's 10km sprint biathlon

(From L) Silver medalist Norway's Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen, gold medalist France's Quentin Fillon Maillet and bronze medalist Norway's Sturla Holm Laegreid pose on the podium of the men's biathlon 10km sprint event during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Anterselva Biathlon Arena (Sudtirol Arena) in Anterselva (Val Pusteria) on February 13, 2026. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images)

Quentin Fillon Maillet bested his silver medal from Beijing and upgraded it to gold at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics Friday. The Frenchman had an impressive day, beating the talents of his own teammates to win the men’s 10 kilometer sprint at the Anterselva Biathlon Arena. Norwegians Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen and Sturla Holm Lagreid took the silver and bronze respectively.  

It was a fast-paced event with three laps around the 2.9 kilometer course, and two visits to the shooting range. On what was a sunny day on the course, the competitors had near-perfect conditions to get the job done.

Finland’s Olli Hiidensalo, who missed out on the medaling, led the race, going 10-for10 at the range. He crossed the finish line at 24:02 with three top biathletes still on the course. Fillon Maillet came into the first range, with the defending silver medalist going clean. Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelsson also went clean, but had to remain perfect in order to be contentious. His time wasn’t enough to stand in medal contention. 

Emilien Jacquelin of France made an impressive finish to his time at the range, shooting perfect, and with such speed, coming out ahead of Fillon Maillet in the second exit of the range. The defending silver medalist arrived at the finish more than a minute of Hiidensalo, securing his spot at the top. 

The Norwegians were still out on the course, but struggled to make a threat of Fillon Maillet’s time. The skiing from Norway’s biathletes made the difference to bring them in the fight for a medal. Laegreid, who made his admissions go viral around the world, got into second, 15.9 seconds back, but moved to third with Christiansen beating him for the spot.