That's what we've been waiting for! Martin's interview with the L'Equipe newspaper was published, his first after the birth of little Manon. Martin, along with the French team, was in Paris on a media tour (October 5), and had a lot of conversations with journalists :)
The two-time Olympic champion is preparing to start the season with cross-country skiing, and plans to take his little daughter with him to training camps and competitions.
Every season brings a child. Last year, the French biathlon family grew with little Adele, the daughter of Marie Dorin-Habert and Louis Habert. This fall, during the official presentation of the French team in Paris, one of the central characters was Manon, the daughter of Martin Fourcade and his friend Hélène, who invariably brought a touching smile to everyone to whom Martin showed her photo.
If last year pregnancy seriously changed Marie Dorin-Habert's plans and her preparation for the season (although it ended with two victories in the World Championship), the birth of little Manon into the Fourcade family (September 10th) had much less impact on the Catalan's preparation.
“What has changed? At first the nights became shorter, but this quickly passes,” Fourcade smiles, “In the long term, the changes will not be huge, except that everything will require even more precise organization. When my friend and I decided to have a child, we understood that I would like to continue playing sports, this was part of our life plans. I never thought about the child in this way: “What can I do to continue my career?” More like: “I will continue my career?” career, will I be able to combine it with a child? Yes, so let's have a baby." Otherwise, we would have to wait for the end of our careers.
Of course, Fourcade foresees some moral difficulties (“in the third week of absence, I will look at Skype more and more often and want to go home more and more”), but he is not too worried about this. "I think I will be resilient enough to cope with this situation. Other athletes manage to do this very well. Marie felt great grief for her daughter, and I hope that I will be able to redirect my emotions as successfully as Marie did. At least At least that’s exactly the feeling I have right now.” Coach Stephane Bouthier also does not think that the new circumstances can seriously shake his protégé: “He is coping very well with this situation, just as he has dealt with all the others since he came to the sport.”
Mom and dad of French biathlon (c) Iva_Nova
However, changes will still come in Martin’s sporting life, which will further turn the French national team into a nursery. As Marie Dorin-Habert did last year and plans to do this season, Fourcade plans to take her daughter with her to some training camps and competitions. “He asked me if it wouldn’t hurt the team if Hélène and Manon came to the training camp, and I agreed if he decided to arrange it himself,” explains Bouthier. “In any case, when Helene arrives, Martin performs best, she is part of his peace of mind.”
Before attending the World Cup for the first time in Hochfilzen (in mid-December) and a month later in Ruhpolding, Manon will travel to Beitostolen. In Norway, Fourcade will take part in the French ski team training camp (November 5-20), and on November 14 he will run a 15-kilometer race with the best Scandinavian skiers. “I want this, that’s my main motivation,” said the Frenchman. “I will be doing this race to see if I can qualify for the opening World Cup, which will take place at the end of November in Ruka, Finland.” And then ski racing will be over for this season.
In any case, Fourcade is convinced that the presence of his little daughter “will bring a little more relaxation.” In other words, by the World Championships in Oslo (March 3-13), he will be in prime shape to win at least a seventh world title. But this time Manon will stay at home and watch her father's achievements on TV.
Marten, it seems to me that this year you are going to become the best biathlete on the planet again, for the 5th time?
My goal is victory in the overall World Cup . This is what I dream about, what I train for. I want to perform well throughout the season and win the coveted title.
Another goal is the World Championships in the biathlon country of Norway, in Oslo.
Certainly, I pay special attention to the Championship in Oslo . It's a big event, and for it to leave good memories, I'll have to shine.
You need to get enough sleep to shine because you're a dad now. Congratulations!
In addition to the official presentation of the French team (remember that at the same presentation a year ago, Martin announced that he had recovered and was starting training), the biathletes took part in sponsors’ events.
Cheese "Comte"
Famous French biathlete Martin Fourcade born in the French district of Céret, in the Eastern Pyrenees. This event occurred in 1988, on September 14.
At the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, Martin Fourcade won a silver medal in the biathlon mass start. At the 2011 Biathlon World Championships, which was held last March in the Russian city of Khanty-Mansiysk, Martin Fourcade won a full set of World Championship medals. He is the younger brother of the biathlete.
Martin Fourcade began his biathlon training at the age of fourteen. Martin Fourcade joined the national biathlon team back in 2006, but he actually began competing for the team only in 2008 at the World Cup in Holmenkollen.
In 2007 and 2008 Martin Fourcade took part in the junior world championships, and in 2007 he took third place in the relay race.
In March 2008, in the capital of Norway, Oslo, Martin Fourcade took 61st place at the Biathlon World Cup.
The next sports season for Martin was more successful. At the World Cup in Hochfilzin, Martin Fourcade took 36th place in the individual race and 10th place in the sprint race. Martin Fourcade finished the 2009 sports season number 24 in the overall World Cup standings, and in every race this season he invariably placed in the top twenty.
In the 2009-2010 sports season, Martin Fourcade began to show better results than before. He finished every race in at least 10th place. Martin Fourcade was included in the French biathlon team at the 2010 Olympic Games in Canada, where he was able to win silver in the mass start.
In the Finnish city of Kontilahti, Martin Fourcade took first place in the pursuit race. And in Oslo, Norway, he won the pursuit and sprint races.
Thanks to two pursuit victories Martin Fourcade won the 2009-2010 sports season in the pursuit program in the biathlon world cup. He beat Austrian biathlete Simon Eder by a point. In the overall standings, Martin Fourcade took 5th place, and his brother Simon took seventh.
The 2010-2011 sports season went well for Martin Fourcade. At biathlon competitions in the city of Östersund, he was among the top five athletes three times, of which he took third place twice. In the city of Ruhpolding, Martin Fourcade won silver medals in each of the three races, and in Fort Kent and Antholz, Martin Fourcade won the mass start. At the Biathlon World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Martin Fourcade arrived as one of the clear contenders for a medal.
In the mixed relay, Martin Fourcade took third place, showing excellent shooting quality and good speed on the track. In the sprint race, Martin Fourcade won silver, although he missed twice - his speed compensated for his mistakes in shooting at the line. A day later, Martin Fourcade became the first in the pursuit race, although he missed three times.
In the overall standings of the World Biathlon World Cup this season, Martin Fourcade became third and ran from Antholz to Oslo in the red dealer's jersey in the mass start.
In the 2011-2012 sports season, Martin Fourcade set himself the task of second or even first place in the overall standings of the world biathlon cup.
In the Swedish city of Östersund, Martin Fourcade took first place in the pursuit and individual race. This allowed Martin to wear the yellow jersey of the world biathlon leader.
He does not play on the stock exchange, does not invest, does not waste money and does not consider himself a miser. He indulges in pleasure, drives a sponsored BMW and is proud of the fact that he does his job so well that he is paid well for it. He is used to giving 120 percent to win, but is not ready to sacrifice time with his family even for the sake of a very lucrative advertising contract - he knows that tomorrow he will be offered an even more lucrative one. After all, he is Martin Fourcade - the most successful biathlete of the 21st century.
In November 2017, Martin’s autobiography “My Dream of Gold and Snow” was published in France. Next year they plan to publish it in Russian. Forbes read the original book and found interesting details about how the star biathlete learned to make money from his victories.
The French are usually reproached for pettiness, and in response they eagerly rush to prove that they are not petty, they just want everything to be organized correctly, honestly and without causing damage. It seems that Martin was guided by these considerations. At the very beginning of his sports career, long before his first Olympic medal, he created the Martin Fourcade company to manage all non-sports affairs: relations with the media (after all, if he starts winning, he will have to actively interact with them), sponsors (and they will definitely appear after the first successes) and prize money (he was convinced there would be a lot of them). And this athlete’s foresight turned out to be very useful. When his achievements really aroused the interest of brands, Marten already had a plan for working with them. Subsequently, changes were made to the enterprise's charter, which made it possible to separate two financial flows - prizes for sports results and sponsorship contracts. “From then on, I was able to hire people and pay them salaries from my own personally earned prize money.”, explains Marten's decision to make his accounting more transparent, so that sponsors do not feel that their money is being spent on something, in their opinion, that is not related to the contract.
However, sponsorship money (and Fourcade repeatedly emphasized this) is not the main topic for discussion when concluding an agreement. For an athlete, it is not so much the amount prescribed in it that is important, but the form of cooperation. And, of course, the image impact that this collaboration can have. “I am a supporter of the philosophy - less is more (at the same time, Marten has more than 10 partners, including 5-6 in outfitting. - Forbes). It’s hard to imagine myself advertising something I don’t like, even for very good money. Exactly Therefore, I never wanted to have an agent who searches for sponsors, receiving a percentage of each contract. In pursuit of money, such agents can put the athlete in an awkward position, forcing, for example, to sign a contract with a company whose reputation is not impeccable, or with one that is not. preaches ideas that are not close to you."
Instead of an agent, Fourcade has had a lawyer for many years, whose work is paid by the hour and consists of assessing a potential deal, discussing all the points of the future contract and drawing it up. "From the moment the contract is signed, the relationship with the sponsor is only my job". And this work can be no less exciting than any other race from a common start. “We are making a commercial with someone, someone is just using my image,- explains Martin in the book. - But, for example, we have been discussing this option with the Rossingol company for a long time: I suggested that they place the entire collection of my trophies in some room. I have no desire to create a museum of personal glory at home, but at the same time it seems wrong to me to store Olympic medals - and each of them is a work of art in itself, by the way - in some box in the back of the garage... Sometimes a sponsorship agreement involves speaking to management or employees of the company. And by the way, I really like this idea. I think people are really interested in listening to my story, there is a lot to learn from me, for example, in terms of motivation."
Martin is not lying. The man who fulfilled his dream at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi should have ended his sports career long ago, but instead continues to break records for the number of victories and titles. “I remember that I was very surprised when I read in one of Usain Bolt’s interviews: “I hope my records will forever remain unsurpassed.” I, on the contrary, hope that in the future all my records will probably be broken! I just want to be the best here and now. Every time I go to the start, I dream of coming to the finish line first!” Moreover, the first one receives not only points for the overall standings, but also a check for a substantial amount. In the 2016/17 season, Martin managed to earn € 380,000, over his entire sports career - € 1.5 million. “The prices are known: the winner of the World Cup race receives € 13,000, for second place they give € 10,000, for third – € 7,000, and so on until the fifteenth line of the final protocol, taking which, you will become richer by € 500. Winner of the Crystal Globe and first place in the overall standings receives a check for € 30,000 at the end of the season from the International Biathlon Federation. Add here the prize money from the French Olympic Committee for medals at the Games: € 50,000 for gold, € 20,000 for silver and € 13,000 for bronze. And take into account that all these are amounts on which you still need to pay tax."
When talking about income, Fourcade so often adds the notorious “before taxes” that it becomes clear that “in hand” comes out much more modest. French tax laws are really strict. "I do not resort to any cunning schemes to minimize tax liabilities,- Martin comments. - I pay honestly and in full - I give over 40 percent. And I think this is fair - the state allowed me to grow into a great athlete for free: school, training, participation in competitions. And now it’s my turn to do my part to ensure that this system continues to work and work for free. Although, to be honest, at the moment when I sign the check and transfer the amount with five zeros to the state, I want to scream, but I restrain myself.”
As a child, Marten could not choose for quite a long time - skiing or biathlon. Age became the determining factor: in skiing, rare talent is revealed before the age of 25-26, and biathlon is conquered even by younger people. “So I decided to start with biathlon: if it doesn’t work there, then I’ll still have time to get back into skiing.”. The Frenchman’s calculation, as always, turned out to be correct: he won everything possible in biathlon and is not going to stop. “After the Olympic medal in Vancouver 2010, I thought: okay, the first Olympics is to open up, the second is to take gold, but after Sochi that’s it, that’s it, there are many other wonderful things in life! But look, here I am, - still here... I understand that sport gives me the opportunity to lead the life that I like, and one day even fulfill my dream - to buy land and build the house of my dreams! And someday I will definitely do this crazy thing!
It looks like this will be the first crazy act in the life of Fourcade, who usually has everything under control - competitors, wind at the shooting range, training plan, relationships with sponsors and finances. And by the time Martin decides to buy, he will probably already have everything thought out down to the smallest detail.
Natalia Volkova
Fourcade's treasures. How much and how does biathlete Martin Fourcade earn
Martin Fourcade earns an honest living and even pays taxes. He talked about this in his autobiography.Back in November last year, Martin Fourcade’s book about himself, “My Dream of Gold and Snow,” was published in France. Very soon it should be translated into Russian, but for now Forbes studied the fundamental work of the Frenchman in the original, found and translated interesting business details from there.
Martin Fourcade is the most successful biathlete of the 21st century. It’s hard to argue with this, since the athlete has two Olympic golds, 11 world champion titles, a carriage and a small cart of other trophies, including six Crystal Globes. But despite such success and popularity, Fourcade is exclusively involved in sports. He does not have plants, factories, companies producing everything in the world, objects and other “worldly concerns” that bring dividends.
The only thing the biathlete did at the beginning of his career was to create a small company, Martin Fourcade. For what? So that future sponsors can interact with him. That is, the person was so confident in his own success that he thought through everything in advance! But he might not have become a biathlete, since at first he was inclined towards cross-country skiing. But trophies in biathlon, unlike skiing, are also won by those under 25 years of age. So Fourcade decided to start with him. And you can always return to skiing. Another confirmation that Marten always thinks out everything to the smallest detail.
Fourcade really began to win, everything in a row and in huge volumes. It was then that sponsors and various brands appeared on the horizon, ready to cooperate with the biathlete. What about Martin? He immediately responded to them with a pre-built scheme for working with potential investors. And this “Fourcade scheme” became more transparent and more attractive for sponsors every year. It got to the point that he decided to divide his accounting into two parts: one contained money from sports prize money, and the other contained sponsorship contracts. Smart as hell! Sponsors must see that their financial contributions are not spent on the Milky Way truck, but go only for those needs that are specified in the contract.
But in terms of choosing partners, Fourcade is very selective. “I am a proponent of the philosophy of “less is more.” I can’t imagine myself advertising something I don’t like,” writes Marten. Moreover, the biathlete never had an agent who would search for sponsors and have a considerable percentage of each contract. Why, if Fourcade wants and will advertise what he loves, wears and uses himself. In case of working with sponsors, the Olympic champion has a lawyer. It is he who assesses all the risks of a future transaction and receives payment for his work exclusively by the hour.
As soon as Fourcade signs the contract, he personally begins to interact with the sponsor. “We are making a commercial with someone, someone is using my image. But, for example, we have been discussing this option with the Rossingol company for a long time: I suggested that they place the entire collection of my trophies in some room. I have no desire to create a museum of personal glory at home, but at the same time it seems wrong to me to keep Olympic medals - and each of them is a work of art in itself, by the way -in some box in the back of the garage... Sometimes the sponsorship agreement involves speaking to the management team or employees of the company. And by the way, I really like this idea. I think people are really interested in listening to my story, there is a lot to learn from me, for example, in terms of motivation.”, writes Martin Fourcade in his book.
Over the course of his entire sports career, Martin earned 1.5 million euros, last season - 380 thousand euros. But Fourcade is a conscientious taxpayer. This is what he writes about himself in his book and there is no reason not to believe him. The French tax system is very harsh on the “rich Pinocchio”, and Olympic gold is never an indulgence. “I do not resort to any cunning schemes to minimize tax liabilities. I pay honestly and in full - I give over 40%. And I think this is fair - the state allowed me to grow into a great athlete for free: school, training, participation in competitions. And now it’s my turn to contribute to ensuring that this system continues to work and work for free,”- says Fourcade.
The biathlete really believes not only in himself, but also in the fact that after him “ambitious understudies” should come to French biathlon and break his records. But when this happens, Martin Fourcade himself, in his own words, will have to fulfill his old dream - “to buy land and build the house of his dreams.”
source: “Soviet Sport”
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Martin Fourcade is a famous French biathlete who managed to win many glorious victories during his career. In recent years, our today's hero has been perhaps the main hope of the French team. That is why in our article we decided to talk in a little more detail about his life and sports career. After all, at the Olympics in Sochi, Martin Fourcade will definitely show himself in all his glory.Early years, childhood and family of biathlete Martin Fourcade
The future famous athlete was born in the city of Sere on September 14, 1988. From an early age, Marten was involved in various “winter” sports under the strict guidance of his father, a professional coach. First, our today's hero tried his hand at snowboarding, then hockey. However, in the end, like his older brother Simon, he chose biathlon.It is quite remarkable that Martin never hid the fact that the sports careers of other members of his family had a great influence on his sports career. At the time when Fourcade Jr. was taking his first steps in the world of professional sports, his brother Simon was already storming the podiums of major international competitions. For a long time, Martin was his number one fan. But, in the end, I decided to take biathlon seriously myself.
The first successes came to the athlete very soon. After a number of successful performances at youth and junior competitions, Martin Fourcade made it into the French national team, in whose ranks he began performing in 2002. At that moment, the young athlete was only fourteen years old.
Christophe Sumann and Martin Fourcade sing at the awards ceremony
Martin Fourcade grew and improved, and therefore four years later he managed to make a successful debut at international youth competitions. At first, the athlete’s results were not the best. In 2007, our today's hero managed to win bronze in the relay race, but subsequently Marten invariably found himself outside the coveted podium. As a rule, he finished the performance among the 10 strongest. But this was not enough for the ambitious athlete.
Biathlete Martin Fourcade in big sports
Martin Fourcade had a chance to appear for the first time in “adult” competitions in 2008 at the World Cup in Oslo, Norway. That time, our today's hero finished the race only...sixty-first. However, this offensive “click on the nose” seemed to only benefit the talented young athlete.Already in the next season, Martin improved well and eventually managed to win his first rating points in Hochfilzen, Germany, taking thirty-sixth place in the individual race and reaching the top ten in the sprint. After this, the young Frenchman also performed brilliantly at the World Championships, during which he was invariably among the top twenty athletes in every race.
Martin Fourcade's facial expression
Thanks to this, in the overall standings of the 2009 season, Martin Fourcade managed to take the final 24th place, which was an undoubted success for the young guy. The next year became even more successful. The talented Frenchman took another step up, and therefore soon managed to win his first medals. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Fourcade reached the second final place in the mass start (15 km). The silver medal was a real surprise for all fans of the biathlete, but later our today’s hero successfully proved that all this was by no means a simple coincidence.
At the World Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland, the talented Frenchman won a gold medal in the pursuit race, and then managed to win two victories in Oslo, Norway (in pursuit and sprint). As a result of all this, in the 2009/2010 season the athlete became fifth in the overall World Cup standings. He began to be called one of the most promising biathletes on the planet. Martin Fourcade began to be offered lucrative advertising contracts, and was also often invited to French television. As a result, already at twenty-one, the talented athlete became the main hope of the French national team.
In the 2010/2011 season, the biathlete won several more outstanding victories. Among these, the most impressive achievement was a full set of awards (gold, silver and bronze) at the World Championships in Russian Khanty-Mansiysk. These, as well as some other achievements, allowed Martin Fourcade to enter the top three biathletes in the overall World Cup standings for the first time in his career. At that moment, it became clear to everyone that the talented Frenchman had entered the world of biathlon seriously and for a long time. And a year later, Martin successfully proved the truth of these words.
At the next World Championships in Ruhpolding, Germany, Martin Fourcade won three sets of gold medals. As a result, that season our today’s hero managed to lead the overall World Cup standings for the first time in his career. Having dethroned the Norwegian Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, the Frenchman has firmly established himself as the main favorite of any race. Subsequently, Martin Fourcade repeatedly proved that he is one of the best biathletes of his generation.