THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE INTERNATIONAL BIATHLON ...

PERSONALITIES Persönlichkeitenhappened very fast. Youfinish, do the media, pressconference, the medal ceremony,and then you do notsleep that night because youare so excited. Then the nextday, more media and suddenly,you have to start againthe next day. I just did not realizehow special it was, untilI got back to France, thenit sunk in.”He was also remindedof the Gold medal’s importancejust after the competitionwhen he received a specialphone call, “PresidentSarkozy called me and congratulatedme on the Goldmedal. He invited me to theÉlysée Palace and I will receivethe Légion d’honneur(Legion of honor) in thespring.”Jay’s family was equally caught offguard, as they had just arrived the evening before thecompetition. “They were so jet lagged that they almost didnot realize that I won. When the media and television realizedmy parents were in Whistler, they found them immediately.My mother was very excited and emotional andcried a lot. My father was very happy but kept his emotionsto himself. When they got back home, they could not getthe door open, because their friends covered their housewith signs of congratulations.”Despite all of the media and celebrations, Jay managedto claim a second Olympic medal two days later, a PursuitBronze. That medal was maybe even more special as hisgirlfriend Marie Laure Brunet won a Bronze in the Women’sPursuit the same day. “It was perfect to have Marie Laurewin a medal; the same color, the same day. Of course,that caused a lot of media in France. It was so nice, wewere happy for each other. We read the story about David(Ekholm) and Helena (Jonsson) winning medals togetherand thought it was possible, but never actually expected itto happen on the same day. In the end, it was the same forus.” Brunet called it, “a day we will always remember.”Although he has reached the pinnacle of any athletic careerwith an Olympic Gold medal, Jay is not satisfied. “Ofcourse I still have goals. . . The expectations next year forthe French team and me from the public and media willbe high. We are not the World Cup leaders like Norway orRussia, but we have gained respect this year.”Fate may have intervened and helped Vincent Jay winan Olympic Gold medal. However he proved his talent andskill with solid performances in the final World Cups andan 11th place finish in the Overall World Cup.Reflecting on the past couple of months and his new status,he smiled as he added, “Of course there is pressureevery week in the World Cup, but I now have a Gold medal.For the next four years, I am the Olympic Sprint Champion!”•Als Vincent Jay beim 10 km-Sprint der Olympischen Spieleam Start stand, belegte er Platz 41 der Weltrangliste. Etwasmehr als eine Stunde später war er Olympiasieger.An diesem Tag wurde im Whistler Olympic Park einmalmehr bewiesen, dass bei den Olympischen Winterspielenalles möglich ist. Fast während des gesamten Sprintwettkampfsherrschte im Whistler Olympic Park dichtes Schneetreiben.Jay und die folgenden fünf Finalisten starteten andiesem Tag alle in den ersten fünf Minuten und waren sodurch das heftige Wettertreiben fast nicht betroffen. Jay wardurchaus bewusst, welches Glück er gehabt hatte und meinte:„Es war unglaublich, die Goldmedaille zu gewinnen, dochdas Wetter war auf meiner Seite. Ich war mit Ole Einar in derletzten Runde, was mir sehr half; an diesem Tag hat einfachalles gepasst.“Davor war er erst einmal auf dem Podest gestanden: letztenMärz, als er hier am selben Ort den 20 km-Einzelwettkampfim Weltcup gewann. Bei den Olympischen Winterspielenschenkte er dem Sprint keine besondere Aufmerksamkeit.„Mein Traum war es, in der Staffel und über 20 km eine Medaillezu holen, aber nicht im Sprint. Ich strebte lediglich eingutes Resultat unter den Top 10 für die Verfolgung an. MeineSchießleistung war gut dieses Jahr und ich dachte, dass iches mit einem Start an sechster oder siebter Stelle vielleichtVincent JayThe official Magazine of the IBU 20 I 2010 biathlonworld 77