France’s biathlon icon Martin Fourcade will not plan the Winter Olympics in his country in 2030. Fourcade withdrew his application for the chair of the organizational committee after disagreements, as French media report. “I can’t decide to sacrifice my beliefs.”
Fourcade ended his career in 2020 – he became the Olympic champion five times, thirteen times world champion and won the overall World Cup seven times. He was later elected to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). According to the sports magazine “L’équipe”, Fourcade was considered a favorite in the race for the chair of the organization team for the winter games in the Alps. Now the item could go to Vincent Jay, also biathlon Olympic champion, or ski freestyler Marie Martinod.
The winter games 2030 are planned in the southern French regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Several ice competitions are to take place in Nice. The concept almost exclusively provides for the use of existing competition sites.