Martin Fourcade | Bigger Than Biathlon

Martin Fourcade: Bigger than Biahtlon Martin forcott is one of the greatest by athletes to ever compete in the sport of biathlon immense talent and unwavering determination propelled him to the Forefront of the sport from his awe-inspiring silver medal at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games to his unprecedented dominance over 13 seasons for Kata Maps an astonishing collection of seven Olympic medals 28 World Championship medals and is seven-time overall World Cup winner for COD has set records and left an indelible mark on the sport however his competitive Spirit extended beyond the tracks and on occasion would land him in a world of controversy as he fearlessly advocated for clean competition and challenge doping practices Martin forcata is a biathlon Legend and his legacy on the sporting World reaches far beyond just biosla today we'll recap the lusterous controversial and impactful career of Martin [Music] thank you foreign ly thank my supporters on patreon for their continual support of this channel a lot of time energy and research goes into producing videos like these so if you like what you see check the link in the description down below to see how you can support the channel get exclusive access to perks such as Early Access to videos and much more A Biathlon God starting in the early stages of his career for COD quickly showcased his immense talent and determination as he soared through the ranks he claimed his first taste of Olympic Glory at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver capturing a silver medal in the pursuit event his achievement served as a mere Prelude to his spectacular dominance the following years the next season Martin would continue his success on the world stage by earning a silver medal at the 2011 World Championship Sprint and followed up his Olympic Pursuit silver medal by earning a Pursuit World Championship Victory by 2011-2012 Martin Rose to the top spot in the biathlon World in a dominant fashion both by being consistently one of the fastest skiers on the tracks and one of the most accurate Shooters on the Range there were seemingly no holes in Martin's performance and as a result he put together a string of seven of the most dominant Seasons where he was Far and Away the greatest by Athlete on planet Earth during his Reign Martin would amass six more Olympic medals 22 more World Championship medals and 20 free small Globes to complement his seven overall crystal globes and just to prove a point in back to back Seasons he set single season Podium records by earning 22 podiums and 26 races this record has since been beaten by Johannes tingus Beau but this level of dominance hadn't been seen in over a decade when the Great oleaner burundollen was dominant in the early 2000s for cod's dominance A Competitor was a result of his incredibly competitive nature a trait that is great to have on the ski Trail but can lead to some problems off the trail for example his highly publicized Feud with his brother and teammate Simone as Junior athletes Simone was highly regarded as the next great French biathlete and it was a great shock to everyone when Martin won his silver medal in Vancouver this sudden competition between the brothers led to a multi-year divide within the family there was also this incident in the 2013 Legrand Pursuit where Martin was having what would be his worst race in several years and on the last lap when Sweden's Freddie Lindstrom accidentally stepped on his pole Martin turned around to whack Freddy's pull as if to say back off this this action ended up breaking Freddie's poll Martin immediately regretted this action and offered his pull to Freddy to complete the race at the Finish Line Martin apologized but needless to say Freddy did not seem amused but more often than not competitive drives what made him so great Martin was known for his tactics and punishing bursts of speed that would destroy anyone who dared challenge him seemingly always having this last lap gas won Martin countless races and left his competitors in the dust if you wanted to beat Martin forcad you seemingly needed at least a minute advantage on the last lap to beat An Advocate him with all the success and fame it's usually hard for athletes to stay out of the spotlight and keeping an uncontroversial image becomes a full-time job for most in this position but Martin had other plans Martin would use his platform as the number one buy athlete in the world to be very vocal about anti-doping and share his opinions on the doping allegations leveraged against Russia during the 2014 Olympics this amounted to the greatest display of protests seen at a biathlon event in 2017 after Russian athlete Alexander Logan was reinstated to the IBU after a two-year doping ban for COD took to Twitter to voice his displeasure with the decision to allow the athlete to return to competition soon after during a mixed relay in hockfields for cotton long enough collided in the exchange Zone resulting in long enough falling over Martin denies this action was intentional however the Russian team felt these actions were targeted so they refused to shake his hand during the podium ceremony for COD reacted by sarcastically clapping and storming off the podium in protest Martin used this attention to further voice his desire for clean competition and his concern over the ibu's lack of action against the Russian Federation for doping during the 2014 games we saved a lot of insults on my accounts on the last few days but I really don't care and I did a good competition today we did a wonderful fight with with the team and we are satisfied about this silver medal and if people want to do respect me because I'm fighting for a clinical it's their choice as toxic and political as this must have been for Martin hindsight would prove his advocacy would have Merit long after A Lifetime of Sports his career upon his retirement and at the conclusion of the 2020 season Martin stated his only regret in his career was not being able to share his farewell tour with his fans due to the covid-19 pandemic fans were not allowed in the stadium to cheer on for cod as he crossed the finish line for the final time winning the race of course however despite the conclusion of his career Martin continues to have a lasting impact on the Sports World for One the popularity of biathlon in France is at an all-time high and the team performance reflects this popularity while there has been recent fluctuation in the French performance one cannot deny the expectation for excellence that has become the standard since for God's career as an athlete Martin played a crucial role in bringing the World Cup back to France his success on the world stage made the French faithful desperate to see their champion on home snow and in 2013 the World Cup made its first stop in France since the Albertville Olympic Games in 1992 today the World Cup still makes frequent stops to anse Legrand Bernard and cameras cannot help but cut to Martin's reaction anytime a French athlete has a good shooting stage but bringing the World Cup to France was not the only event Martin had a hand in promoting in his home nation in 2019 just prior to his retirement farcad started the Martin for COD Nordic Festival which is a weekend-long Summer Event on the banks of Lake ansay featuring Elite biathlon competition vendors concerts and triad biathlon events for the public today the Martin for COD Nordic Festival has continued to grow and has become a staple of Summer biathlon action within the sport in February 2022 farcode was elected to serve an eight-year term as a member of both the ioc and ioc athlete commission much akin to his tenure as an athlete for God's advocacy has caused quite a stir in the sporting world this time in favor of Russian athletes ironically Martin has publicly advocated for the inclusion of Russian and Bella Russian athletes in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics it is controversial opinion particularly in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine nevertheless forcad feels it as a necessary stance given his role to represent all athletes even those hailing from Nations whose governmental actions have faced widespread Global disproval Martin Martin's Legacy forcout's biothon career stands as a testament to the heights that can be achieved through unwavering dedication unmatched talent and Relentless pursuit of Excellence from his early triumphs to his reign of dominance on the world stage for cod's exceptional achievements have solidified his position as one of the Sport's all-time greats yet his impact transcends mere athletic accomplishment with a courageous voice he fearlessly advocated for clean competition and fair play using his platform to challenge doping practices and Champion the values of integrity and sportsmanship in Martin for COD we find not only a remarkable athlete but also Trailblazer an advocate and an inspiration to athletes and fans alike leaving an endowable mark on the sport of Python and the hearts of those who witnessed his extraordinary Journey [Music] thank you [Applause] foreign