The biathlon sport could lose another permanent top competitor after the retirement of the Bö brothers. French athlete Émilien Jacquelin can imagine ending his career after the Winter Games.
Is Émilien Jacquelin currently preparing for his last World Cup winter? This possibility exists, especially since the French biathlon star left his future open during a press conference and gave clear indications.
“After the Olympic Games, I don’t know what I will do. I thought a lot about it during preparation and honestly it will depend on how much energy I have,” the 30-year-old is quoted by the magazine Nordic Mag .
However, he cannot spend too many thoughts on it, especially since the focus is first on the 2026 Olympic Games. “I would like to shine at the Games in Milan because I’m missing that individual medal,” he stated his clear goal and emphasized that Olympic precious metal would make him “proud.”
If the French rapid-fire shooter achieves this goal, he can imagine retiring at the peak. “I firmly believe that after an Olympic victory I don’t necessarily have to continue and achieve more,” he informed the journalists present.
The biathlon star wants to gain clarity after this winter about whether he wants to continue enduring the World Cup hardships: “It requires a lot of willpower and commitment to prepare for a biathlon season, and I don’t want to do things halfway. I won’t just continue for the sake of continuing.”
He is “open to everything, to other projects, to continuing or stopping.”
Jacquelin won two silver medals (relay and mixed relay) at the 2022 Winter Olympics and five gold and bronze medals each at World Championships. Three of his World Championship gold medals were won in individual competitions. In the World Cup, he won a total of five individual races and secured the pursuit World Cup in 2019/20. In the overall World Cup, he placed among the top 7 five times.
However, Jacquelin has also dealt with performance fluctuations in the past and struggled with mental problems in 2023. The ski star was able to overcome these and show strong performances again, although there were disappointments again at the 2025 World Championships.