It has been widely reported in recent weeks that Siegfried Mazet will become the new shooting coach for the French biathlon team. The celebrated coach, who previously spent a long tenure with Norway, succeeds Jean-Pierre Amat, who has congratulated the federation on the decision.
“I’m not sure there could have been a better option than him,” Amat told Nordic Magazine regarding Mazet’s appointment. “The guys were completely excited about this idea. That gives us a very strong foundation. Yes, there will be changes, but it’s a fresh wind, and they need it to keep progressing.”
Mazet previously coached the French men’s biathlon team from 2008 to 2016 before moving to Norway. With the Scandinavians, the shooting coach achieved numerous triumphs and played a key role in Johannes Thingnes Bø’s rise to become a record world champion. Now, at 48, he returns to his homeland.
Amat, who will take on various duties with the French Ski Federation (FFS) until his planned retirement at the end of November, remains available to support Mazet. “He knows very well that a phone call is quickly made, but I don’t think he will need much advice or opinion from me beyond that,” the former world champion in sport shooting added.
Mazet is “a big guy and will quickly fit into the group, which he already knows from observing them from the neighboring position for ten years,” the outgoing coach continued. “I think, even if we have different profiles, the collaboration will work well,” the 63-year-old asserted.
Over the coming weeks, the new shooting coach will have the chance to get to know his new athletes: Fabien Claude, Eric Perrot, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, Oscar Lombardot, Gaëtan Paturel, and Emilien Claude. “My first challenge is to be accepted by them and to show them what I can achieve with them,” Mazet recently stated.