French biathlete Quentin Fillon Maillet won bronze in the men's mass start at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Friday, his ninth medal in three Games. It makes him his country's most decorated competitor at the winter or summer Olympics.
The 33-year-old overcame a poor performance in the shooting sections to finish the 15km course at the Antholz-Anterselva Arena in 39 minutes and 42.7 seconds.
Johannes Dale-Skjevdal and Sturla Holm Laegreid claimed gold and silver respectively for Norway.
Until now, French fencers Roger Ducret and Philippe Cattiau held the record for most Olympic medals when they won eight apiece in the 1920s and '30s.
Three days ago, Fillon Maillet equalled their haul when he won gold in the men's 4 x 7.5km relay.
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From Beijing to French Alps
After coming home from the 2018 Pyeongchang Games empty-handed, Fillon Maillet began building his treasure trove four years ago in Beijing, with silver in the mixed relay.
He added the first piece of gold from the men's individual event. Another silver came in the men's sprint. He snaffled another gold in the men's pursuit and another silver followed in the men's team relay.
That total allowed him to enter Winter Olympic legend as the first man to brandish five medals at the same Games.
In Milan Cortina, his glory has continued. He won the mixed relay and individual sprint, and ran the penultimate leg in France's victorious men's 4 x 7.5km relay.
The bronze on Friday burnished the legend: Fillon Maillet is the first man to win a medal in all six Olympic biathlon races.
"Bronze obviously doesn't have the same value and weight as gold," Fillon Maillet told French broadcaster France 2 just after the race.
"But I'll take it anyway. I am delighted with these Olympics. Four medals isn't the five we won in Beijing, but we did win one more gold, so it's almost as successful as Beijing," he added, before hinting that he might try to compete at the next Winter Olympics in the French Alps in 2030.
"I'm thinking about it more and more because this is what I love. And if everything falls into place, why not?"
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Back from behind
Due to four misses in the shooting on Friday, Fillon Maillet had to complete four penalty loops of 150m each.
As he approached the final 3km, he was six seconds behind Germany's Philipp Horn who was in third place. He closed in and overtook him on the final climb.
Fillon Maillet's exploits on Friday increased the French delegation's medal count to 20 – five more than the previous record haul from the 2014 Games in Sochi and in Pyeongchang in 2018.
On Saturday, France's triple gold medallist Julia Simon will be among the favourites for a medal when she competes in the women's 12.5km mass start.
