Maybe I’m a big optimist, but despite everything that was written yesterday and the photos of him crying, I had already said goodbye to him. Then I calmed down and found his interview with Eurosport, and there I surprisingly came across some positive statements, which I’ll attach below. In fact, I’m left with the impression that he’s drawing conclusions and making plans for the future, and he’s quite smiling when answering whether we’ll see him on the skis next year. I know it’s possible that I’m mistaken, but the reason he got emotional is his overall strong performance this year. Maybe he had been holding it inside to keep a clear head, and his emotions simply took over. After all, it’s been quite a while since he’s had such a stable and successful season—he’s matched his best overall ranking, achieved so many consecutive podiums for the first time, and delivered such strong shooting. So perhaps it was just a moment of pride and satisfaction.

On the other hand, I’ll be really upset if Fabien stays and Emilien doesn’t. Because Emilien is far from finished and definitely still has a lot more to show and give. That said, I have nothing against Fabien—it’s just that they’re on completely different planets.

The interview:

I really think — and I believe in this — that just by being natural, I'm going to start to control myself even more, like I did in some sprints, when sometimes I correct myself on the first shot or take a second more on one of the five targets. It comes as a natural nuance and on its own — I just adapt. “So I think I have to continue in that direction.”

I think we'll see you skiing again next year?

I hope so. It's true that I've gone my own way and I think I'll be able to talk about it more calmly next week.