France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet shot clean in the range, hitting all 20 targets to secure his second gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics with a time of 39:07.5. Maillet’s medal tally at the Games reached four with two gold and two silver. He has won an Olympic medal in each event he's entered in.
SEE MORE: France's Quentin Fillon Maillet wins men's 20km gold
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Maillet left PyeongChang with no medals during one of his most disappointing seasons but will leave the 2022 Winter Olympics with at least four. He is projected to win more medals in the men’s 4x7.5km relay and 15km mass start, even though he is already satisfied with how successful he's been thus far.
I never expected to have four medals in four races. My goal, was to have one in relay and one in individual, but right now I have four and that's incredible
Quentin Fillon Maillet
The conditions on the course for the men’s 12.5km pursuit were some of the worst biathletes had experienced so far at the Winter Games. The fan-favorite biathlete from Norway Johannes Thingnes Boe had a tragic time on the course and missed the target seven times. He failed to make the podium in one of the most unsuccessful runs he's ever had after placing fifth.
Boe’s brother, Tarjei, missed one target in the first prone shooting stage and went clean for the remaining 19. He powered through the heavy, slow snow to win silver, 28.6 seconds behind Maillet. Similar to Tarjei Boe, ROC’s Eduard Latypov missed one target in the last standing shooting stage. He rounded out the podium with bronze, crossing the finish line 35.3 seconds later.
Unfazed by the weather, Italy’s Lukas Hofer also shot clean alongside Maillet. Hofner controlled his breathing in the prone and standing shooting stages to steady his aim on the targets while adjusting his sights to get a more accurate aim on the targets positioned 50m away. Hofner ended the pursuit in fourth and couldn't exceed Maillet’s speed up and down the inclines.
The next opportunity for Maillet to top the podium again will be in the men’s 4x7.5km relay on Feb. 15 at 4:00 a.m. ET.