Bad hairstyles are an indication of success in biathlon. And even though he has one now, Eric Perrot prefers any kind of headgear. The 23-year-old Frenchman got the head of team-mate Fabien Claude on the podium at the Biathlon World Championship in Lenzerheide, and two strips remained on the top of the head. “It looks terrible,” said Perrot and moved the face. The bet that he had engaged: for a World Cup title, the hair has to take off. And with his 19 goals with 20 shots and the fastest term in singles, nobody was better than this Eric Perrot, about which they say in France: he will be the new star in the biathlon.
“An ascent that is just beginning,” writes the sports newspaper L’Equipe About Eric Perrot, and whoever watches the young biathletes these days get the impression: someone knows where to go. Sometimes there are only small signs that say a lot: Before the first race in Lenzerheide, the entire French team in the arena was ready for information, and Perrot herself approached the reporters himself. “Would you like to know something?” He asked kindly – why you have to push other athletes for him is a matter of course for him.
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In general, there is currently no reason for the French to hide: after seven races in Switzerland, they were as good with nine medals as no other nation. This applies to men like women. Julia Simon, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Lou JeanMonnot, three French women, were able to storm on the podium in solo races. For Eric Perrot, it worked like for Braisaz-Bouchet and Quentin Fillon Maillet with two medals away from the seasons, including with the longed-for World Cup title in singles. With the same hit record, he was almost a minute ahead of the second -placed Tommaso Giacomel. “As a child, you always imagine that, now you can really say that of yourself: I am world champion. That’s crazy, ”said Perrot later with a hat on his head. “I really don’t want to lose it.”
The secret of success is not too much thinking, says Eric Perrot, but it only succeeds with the necessary self -confidence. A characteristic that the French exude almost closed, and the experts in the waking team also go to the wax team warmly after every decision. And the trainers can no longer get out of the happy: Not only the ranks of medal winners are impressive, but also those at young talents. So you get closer to an answer to the question of why the French are so good. Association leader Stéphane Bouthiaux says: “We have so many young athletes, and more and more are coming. And the more there is, the greater the chance of an athlete with a top level. ” Often, says Bouthiaux, they don’t even know how to get all the biathletes and biathletes in the competitions.
In every French biathlon region there are “four, five or six coaches with 50 athletes who want to make it up”
In his opinion, the fact that the enthusiasm in France is so great for biathlon is primarily due to the fact that sport is watched a lot on television – and to Martin Fourcade. Because of his success, but also his personality, says Bouthiaux. For years, Fourcade had fought big fights with the competition, and he was able to win the overall World Cup seven times, and is also several Olympic champion and world champion. The enthusiasm also stopped after his resignation.
Of course, the necessary conditions are also needed to steer passion into the right channels. A strong regional youth system and sufficient trainers make it possible. “We have six biathlon regions and there are four, five or six coaches with 50 athletes everywhere who want to make it up,” says Stéphane Bouthiaux. A luxury situation, almost unique. Only Nordic Skination Norway could draw from a larger pool, says the Frenchman. “But behind it is France, I think. We have more talents than Germany, Italy or anyone else. ” And competition in your own country can inspire, this can also be seen in the age of the successful French and especially French: among the top ten athletes in the World Cup, five are currently frolic from France, two 22-year-olds in Jeanne Richard and Océane Michelon. No bad prospects for the 2030 Olympics in the French Alps.
Having to prove yourself early can be a strengths for the first league of the biathlon, you can now see that from Eric Perrot. “He is 23 years old, but has the maturity of a 30-year-old,” says his coach Simon Fourcade, who is a big factor in the men’s team. Two years ago, Martin Fourcade’s older brother was installed as the new head coach of the men at the athlete’s request. His predecessors Vincent Vittoz and Patrick Favre had surprisingly resigned, and there was said to have occurred a dumping within the team. In addition to a more intensive shooting training, the more open communication now helps, Biathlete Fabien Claude in Lenzerheide said: “It is no different than with your girlfriend: If you have a problem, you have to talk about it, otherwise it will be getting worse and worse.”
Simon Fourcade also had to find out in Switzerland that every success has its price: the coach should also be shaved after Perrot’s World Cup title. The consolation: If the hair has already grew up, the medals will still shine.
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