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Hexperiences: France’s Milano–Cortina 2026 medal parade (and the French phrases to celebrate without sounding… too American)

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France set a Winter Olympics record in 2026: 23 medals. Meet every French medallist—plus French phrases to brag politely.

I watched the 2026 Winter Olympics thinking I was a “casual winter sports person.” You know: admire a few downhill runs, lean forward in my chair for a triple axel, pretend I understand curling (I don’t), and then go back to arguing with myself about whether pain au chocolat is a personality trait.

And then France casually dropped 23 medals on the table—8 gold, 9 silver, 6 bronze—and I had to sit down like I’d just been handed a new verb tense. (CNOSF)

My little revelation moment? It was realizing that biathlon is basically the most French sport imaginable: glide beautifully, then stop and demonstrate perfect composure under pressure like you’re being graded by a very polite, very judgmental professor. The click of the rifle mechanism felt like punctuation: un point final. And suddenly I could say a sentence I absolutely could not say before:

“On a fait un grand chelem sur les relais.”
(“We pulled off a grand slam on the relays.”) (CNOSF)

Below is a curated roll call of every French medallist at Milano–Cortina 2026, with the events that put “Allez les Bleus” into overdrive.

The big headline: France’s historic haul

  • Total medals: 23 (record for France at a Winter Games) (CNOSF)

  • Biathlon alone: 13 medals (yes, thirteen—biathlon basically adopted the French flag) (L'Équipe)

  • A lot of these Games felt like a preview trailer for French Alps 2030: “Coming soon: more snow, more suspense, more national pride, and me mispronouncing skiathlon in public.” (CNOSF)

Gold medallists 🥇 (8)

Biathlon

  • Mixed relay: Éric Perrot, Quentin Fillon Maillet, Lou Jeanmonnot, Julia Simon (CNOSF)

  • Women’s individual: Julia Simon (CNOSF)

  • Men’s sprint: Quentin Fillon Maillet (CNOSF)

  • Men’s relay: Fabien Claude, Émilien Jacquelin, Quentin Fillon Maillet, Éric Perrot (CNOSF)

  • Women’s mass start: Océane Michelon (CNOSF)

  • Women’s relay: Camille Bened, Lou Jeanmonnot, Océane Michelon, Julia Simon (CNOSF)

Figure skating

  • Ice dance: Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron (CNOSF)

Ski mountaineering (Ski-alpinisme)

  • Mixed relay: Emily Harrop & Thibault Anselmet (CNOSF)

Silver medallists 🥈 (9)

Biathlon

  • Men’s individual: Éric Perrot (CNOSF)

  • Women’s individual: Lou Jeanmonnot (CNOSF)

  • Women’s sprint: Océane Michelon (CNOSF)

  • Women’s mass start: Julia Simon (CNOSF)

Cross-country skiing (Ski de fond)

  • Men’s skiathlon: Mathis Desloges (CNOSF)

  • Men’s 10 km free: Mathis Desloges (CNOSF)

  • Men’s relay: Théo Schely, Hugo Lapalus, Mathis Desloges, Victor Lovera (CNOSF)

Alpine skiing (Ski alpin)

  • Women’s Super-G: Romane Miradoli (CNOSF)

Ski mountaineering

  • Women’s sprint: Emily Harrop (CNOSF)

Bronze medallists 🥉 (6)

Biathlon

  • Women’s sprint: Lou Jeanmonnot (CNOSF)

  • Men’s pursuit: Émilien Jacquelin (CNOSF)

  • Men’s mass start: Quentin Fillon Maillet (CNOSF)

Freestyle skiing (Ski acrobatique)

  • Women’s moguls (bosses): Perrine Laffont (CNOSF)

Snowboard

  • Mixed team snowboard cross: Loan Bozzolo & Léa Casta (CNOSF)

Ski mountaineering

  • Men’s sprint: Thibault Anselmet (CNOSF)

Three “how is this real life?” French moments

1) Biathlon: France didn’t “do well,” France ran the house

CNOSF highlights a historic sweep of gold across the three relays—the kind of sentence that makes your heart beat faster even if you’ve never worn skis in your life. (CNOSF)
And NBC’s recap of the mixed relay reads like a “France as main character” montage. (NBC Olympics)

2) Quentin Fillon Maillet: the record-maker

According to CNOSF, with four medals (three gold) at these Games, Quentin Fillon Maillet became the most decorated French Olympian, bringing his total Olympic podiums to nine (including five titles). (CNOSF)
(Meanwhile I’m over here collecting “participation croissants.”)

3) Mathis Desloges: the “hello world” that became three silvers

He opened France’s medal count with a skiathlon silver and then kept going. If you’re a French learner: this is what we call un déclic—that moment when things suddenly work. (L'Équipe)

Mini “La Langue” corner: how to talk Olympics in French (without panic)

A few words you’ll hear again and again:

  • une médaille (medal), l’or / l’argent / le bronze (gold/silver/bronze)

  • un relais (relay)

  • la poursuite (pursuit), la mass-start (mass start)

  • le skiathlon, le super-G

  • les bosses (moguls)

Now—practical speaking prompts by level:

A1 (tiny but mighty)

  • “Bravo !” / “Félicitations !”

  • “La France a gagné.” (France won.)

A2 (your next step)

  • “Ils ont gagné une médaille d’or.” (They won a gold medal.)

  • “J’ai regardé le biathlon à la télé.” (I watched biathlon on TV.)

B1 (start sounding comfortably French)

  • “Le biathlon a porté l’équipe de France.” (Biathlon carried Team France.) (L'Équipe)

  • “C’était une victoire collective sur les relais.” (It was a team victory in the relays.) (CNOSF)

B2 (add nuance + opinion)

  • “Ce qui m’a impressionné, c’est la gestion du stress au tir.”
    (What impressed me was how they managed the pressure during shooting.)

Advanced (a little spicy, still polite)

  • “Une campagne historique, et pas seulement en biathlon : la variété des médailles est remarquable.” (CNOSF)

A few good links if you want to go deeper

  • CNOSF’s official recap + full French medallist list (CNOSF)

  • L’Équipe’s photo-by-photo medallist rundown (great for putting faces to events) (L'Équipe)

  • A short English recap noting France’s record medal count (Francs Jeux)

  • NBC’s biathlon highlights (if you want to relive the relay drama) (NBC Olympics)

Your turn (comments, please!)

  1. Which French medal moment made you involuntarily shout at your screen?

  2. Were you watching from Aix, elsewhere in France, or from abroad (bonjour time zones)?

  3. Language nerd question: what’s your favorite Olympics word—relais, poursuite, bosses—and why?

Bonus: If you want, drop your level (A1/A2/B1/B2/advanced) and I’ll reply with one sentence you can steal to talk about your favorite event like a local.

Location: France

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