Martin Fourcade, France’s most decorated Winter Olympian, retiring from biathlon

By OlympicTalkMar 13, 2020, 3:17 PM EDT

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Martin Fourcade, France’s most decorated Winter Olympian with seven medals and five golds, announced a surprise retirement on Friday at age 31, the International Biathlon Union confirmed.

Fourcade is expected to make Saturday’s World Cup 12.5km pursuit in Finland the last race of his career. It’s also the last race of the season, which will end prematurely due to the coronavirus.

Fourcade has been a force for nearly a decade: seven straight World Cup overall titles from 2012-18, 28 world championships medals, including 13 golds, and five gold medals between the last two Olympics.

Last season, Fourcade struggled with zero world championships medals for the first time since 2010 and a 12th-place finish in the overall standings. This season, he is battling Norwegian rival Johannes Thingnes Bø for the overall title going into Saturday’s finale.

Only Norwegian Ole Einar Bjørndalen owns more Olympic biathlon gold medals (eight), world titles (20) or World Cup victories (94) than Fourcade.

Fourcade, born in Céret, near the Spanish border in the south of France, began cross-country skiing at 6 and switched to biathlon at 13. He followed older brother Simon, who competed in three Olympics.

Fourcade developed a successful method that other biathletes copied — making shooting accuracy his top priority, followed by speed at the range and then making up lost time skiing.

NBC Olympic Research contributed to this report.

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2023 French Open TV, live stream schedule

By OlympicTalkMay 30, 2023, 6:48 PM EDT

The French Open airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points at Roland Garros in Paris.

Tennis Channel has live daily coverage with NBC and Peacock coming back for the middle weekend, plus the men’s and women’s singles semifinals and finals.

All NBC TV coverage also streams on NBCSports.com/live and the NBC Sports app.

It’s the first French Open since 2004 without Rafael Nadal, the record 14-time champion who is out with a hip injury and hopes to return next year for a likely final time.

In his place, the favorites are top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, who is tied with Nadal for the men’s record 22 Grand Slam singles titles.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men

No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland is favored to claim a third French Open title, a year after beating American Coco Gauff in the final. She bids to join Serena Williams and Justine Henin as the lone women to win the French Open three or more times since 2000.

Two Americans are ranked in the top six in the world — No. 3 Jessica Pegula and Gauff.

The last American to win a major singles title was Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open. The 11-major drought matches the longest in history (since 1877) for American men and women combined.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Broadcast Schedule

Date	Time (ET)	Platform	Round
Sunday, May 28	5 a.m.-4 p.m.	Tennis Channel	First Round
	12-3 p.m.	Peacock (STREAM LINK)
Monday, May 29	5 a.m.-3 p.m.	Tennis Channel	First Round
	11 a.m.-3 p.m.	NBC (STREAM) \| Peacock (STREAM)
	3-5:30 p.m.	Peacock (STREAM LINK)
Tuesday, May 30	5 a.m.-5 p.m.	Tennis Channel	First Round
Wednesday, May 31	5 a.m.-5 p.m.	Tennis Channel	Second Round
Thursday, June 1	5 a.m.-5 p.m.	Tennis Channel	Second Round
Friday, June 2	5 a.m.-5 p.m.	Tennis Channel	Third Round
Saturday, June 3	5 a.m.-1 p.m.	Tennis Channel	Third Round
	12-3 p.m.	NBC (STREAM) \| Peacock (STREAM)
	3-5:30 p.m.	Peacock (STREAM LINK)
Sunday, June 4	5 a.m.-1 p.m.	Tennis Channel	Fourth Round
	12-3 p.m.	NBC (STREAM) \| Peacock (STREAM)
	3-5:30 p.m.	Peacock (STREAM LINK)
Monday, June 5	5 a.m.-5 p.m.	Tennis Channel	Fourth Round
Tuesday, June 6	5 a.m.-12 p.m.	Tennis Channel	Quarterfinals
	2-5 p.m.	Tennis Channel
Wednesday, June 7	5 a.m.-12 p.m.	Tennis Channel	Quarterfinals
	2-5 p.m.	Tennis Channel
Thursday, June 8	6 a.m.-2 p.m.	Tennis Channel	Women’s Semifinals
	11 a.m.-2 p.m.	NBC (STREAM) \| Peacock (STREAM)
Friday, June 9	8 a.m.-4 p.m.	Tennis Channel	Men’s Semifinals
	11 a.m.-3 p.m.	NBC (STREAM) \| Peacock (STREAM)
Saturday, June 10	9 a.m.-2 p.m.	NBC (STREAM) \| Peacock (STREAM)	Women’s Final
Sunday, June 11	9 a.m.-2 p.m.	NBC (STREAM) \| Peacock (STREAM)	Men’s Final

2023 French Open men’s singles draw, scores

By OlympicTalkMay 30, 2023, 6:45 PM EDT

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The French Open men’s singles draw is missing injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004, leaving the Coupe des Mousquetaires ripe for the taking.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Novak Djokovic is not only bidding for a third crown at Roland Garros, but also to lift a 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy to break his tie with Nadal for the most in men’s history.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

But the No. 1 seed is Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won last year’s U.S. Open to become, at 19, the youngest man to win a major since Nadal’s first French Open title in 2005.

Now Alcaraz looks to become the second-youngest man to win at Roland Garros since 1989, after Nadal of course.

Alcaraz missed the Australian Open in January due to a right leg injury, but since went 30-3 with four titles. Notably, he has not faced Djokovic this year. They could meet in the semifinals.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 seed, was upset in the first round by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild. It marked the first time a men’s top-two seed lost in the first round of any major since 2003 Wimbledon (Ivo Karlovic d. Lleyton Hewitt).

No. 9 Taylor Fritz, No. 12 Frances Tiafoe and No. 16 Tommy Paul are the highest-seeded Americans, all looking to become the first U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. Since then, five different American men combined to make the fourth round on eight occasions.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

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