A Biathlon World Championship That Became an Absolute Disappointment for Him

A World Championship of Complete Disappointment

Much was planned, but little was achieved: Émilien Jacquelin had a completely botched Biathlon World Championships. Now, his trainers have delivered a bitter verdict.

On Wednesday, shortly after 4:30 PM, while the entire French team jubilantly celebrated the new individual world champion Eric Perrot and his third-placed teammate Quentin Fillon Maillet, Jacquelin was noticeably missing. For a brief period, he distanced himself from the celebrations, sitting alone in the snow, looking around in disbelief.

Jacquelin had originally planned to redeem himself in the long 20-kilometer race. Arriving as the fourth in the overall World Cup standings with high expectations, nothing went his way from the very start at the Biathlon World Championships in Lenzerheide. Although he won a gold medal with the mixed relay, he had to take a penalty lap as the anchorman. In the sprint he finished 19th and in his signature pursuit event he only managed 15th place. In other words, three races resulted in three unfortunate performances.

Instead of improving, his fourth outing was even worse. In the 20 km individual race – a discipline that demands heavy shooting accuracy – he committed five shooting errors and recorded the 45th best time, being three minutes and 40 seconds slower than his dominant teammate Perrot in the afternoon. This resulted in an indisputable 67th place overall. As Jacquelin sat dejected beside his celebrating teammates, he probably already sensed what the French federation would officially announce on Friday: the athlete from Grenoble would not receive a start place in the men’s relay scheduled for Saturday.

Jacquelin Dropped from the Relay

“It is hard to make such a decision. It is even harder when it concerns an athlete you know so well, to whom you feel a deep bond, and there is an emotional side involved,” said Jacquelin’s coach Simon Fourcade. “But these are things that become necessary in order to elicit reactions on all sides. One must be fair to everyone.” Just a week and a half ago in the mixed relay, Fourcade had been forced to explain to Fillon Maillet that there was no place for him. This time it was Jacquelin who was ruthlessly cut from the squad.

Surprisingly, Émilien Claude will join the French team on Saturday. The 25-year-old, brother of Fabien Claude and ranked 24th overall in the World Cup – some 20 places behind Jacquelin – had impressed in January at the Ruhpolding stage by finishing second in the individual, earning his first podium finish. Three days later he made his relay debut, helping his country to victory. France has won all four such team events this winter and is considered one of the top favorites at the World Championships.

Mental Struggles for the Heir to Fourcade

For Jacquelin, this is another moment to pull himself out of a slump. Once known as a hothead who enjoyed stirring up side battles during races, the man who won gold at the 2022 World Championships in Antholz and defended his title the following year at Pokljuka was seen as the logical successor to the retired superstar Martin Fourcade. However, those triumphs turned out to be both a blessing and a curse. The pressure became overwhelming, and mental issues began to plague him. “I no longer enjoyed my sport,” he once said, “suddenly, I could only feel proud when I won. You simply can’t live like that.” It took some time, but the now slightly calmer athlete managed to bounce back and finished sixth in the overall standings last winter, indicating a promising trend. That makes the disappointing World Championship in Lenzerheide all the more bitter. At least he still has one final chance in the mass start on Sunday.