Emilien Jacquelin: The never-ending pursuit of biathlon's 'enfant terrible'
The French pursuit double world champion has his eyes on Beijing 2022 and another new goal: the overall World Cup title. "Who dares wins," he told Olympics.com.
Biathlon
For some people, fulfilling a goal can be an end in itself. For others, it can mark the start of a whole new journey. Biathlon's three-time world gold medallist Emilien Jaquelin belongs to the second category.
Standing in runner-up position in the overall rankings ahead of the World Cup event in Annecy-Le Grand-Bornand, France from 16-19 December, the 26-year-old is one of the leaders in a very dense French team, with four of its athletes in the top 10.
Being one of the standout names in the sport wasn't probably what the PyeongChang 2018 Olympian expected at the beginning of his career.
"I was a French champion in cross-country but I was bad in biathlon", admitted Jacquelin. "But I chose biathlon."
After clinching back-to-back titles in the pursuit event at the last two world championships, now the Frenchman is aiming to be consistent throughout the whole World Cup season.
And the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games are also on his bucket list.
Emilien Jacquelin: "Who dares win"
Over the last couple of seasons, Jacquelin has made a name for himself in the biathlon world.
He jumped from the 24th position in the 2018/2019 overall rankings to the fifth place in the 2019/2020 campaign, and in the same year he secured the crystal globe in the pursuit. An event in which he also won the world title in Antholz/Anterselva, Italy.
Training with five-time Olympic champion Martin Fourcade was crucial to that success.
"Before that, I used to watch Martin [Fourcade], Johannes [Boe], Quentin [Fillon Maillet] et Simon [Desthieux] with wide open eyes. I was very happy to be with them, but I was playing my role of rookie and I didn't want to hurt them. 'They are the champions and I'm discovering', I was saying to myself. In 2020, I understood that was not the case anymore." He then won a new world title in 2021, in pursuit again.
When it comes to performing on a D-day, his answer is always 'yes'.
"When we are ahead of a race, brain tuns into another mode. I like this kind of 'double or nothing'. This is how I see the one-day races. I like this challenge and I think I got that inside myself. During those races, I act naturally and I don't force myself to take risks. My mantra has been 'who dares win' so far. And this is how I like to race."
Emilien Jacquelin: biathlon's enfant terrible?
Racing with his feelings is something that Jacquelin knows well.
But sometimes emotions can overpower reason, like during the 2021 World Championships mass-start race: after having missed all his targets on the second shooting session (prone), he stopped, crossing the finish line in tears and in last position. Criticised by Swede biathletes for not having given it all, he sarcastically replied apologising for running "with his heart, not his reason", in the French newspaper 'Le Dauphiné'.
His emotional way of racing has earned him the reputation of biathlon's 'enfant terrible.' What does he make of the nickname?
"Only in biathlon, it could fit. There is what happen during the race and after the finish line is crossed. It happens very often that, once I finish the race, I think 'I was stupid to act like that.'"
"When I'm watched from television, I can get this reputation but I think biathletes, even foreigners, know me and they can see that in everyday life, I'm kind, laughing and talking with everyone. But after all, it's racing. There is a lot of adrenaline, tension and sometimes, it's tough to contain it."
"Today, I want to give my 100 per cent in every race […] but until now, I followed my instinct and feelings, with the Swedes or sometimes during the race."
Emilien Jacquelin: Now let's go for the overall title
The Frenchman showed that he can deliver in one-day races, something that bodes well ahead of the Winter Olympic Games, where only four individual titles can be won every four years.
After his first experience at PyeongChang 2018, where he "learnt a lot", Jacquelin hopes to win medals at Beijing 2022 and would be "satisfied to come back with one medal in individual and one in relay", even if he'd prefer "gold rather than bronze".
Performing in one-day events doesn't seem to be enough anymore though and his goal now is to aim for the World Cup overall title. That would mean being consistent all season long, on the skis as in the shooting range.
It's a dilemma. A paradox even, for Jacquelin. But it doesn't scare him. Quite the opposite, actually.
"If we want to fight for the overall title, we need to be calm and preserve ourselves. This is against my nature and this is why the challenge is beautiful. Am I capable of going against who I am while I know that we need to accept ourselves if we want to succeed? This is why it's interesting", says the French biathlete, who seems to like contrasts. It can also be seen in his current musical vibes. "I can listen to French rap song Bande organisée and then feel like going to the Billy Joel concert!"
After three World Cup stages, Jaquelin has already stepped on the podium three times, finishing out of the top six only in one event.
The uncertainty of the new challenge is what excites him: "I'm about to try something that I might be incapable of because how I am, how I think, how I see things, does not fit at all. This is the challenge!"