Martin Fourcade's children have had the Paris Olympics on their minds for several months now – particularly Inès and Manon, aged 8 and 7, less so 2-year-old Hugo. For months, at their home in the Haute-Savoie department, his daughters have been cutting out all the articles on the Olympics from Le Petit Quotidien and pasting them in a notebook, practicing drawing mascots and picking the events they want to see – gymnastics, horse-riding. "I have no yearning for my children to become high-level athletes; it's not my ambition at all,' assured the 35-year-old five-time Olympic champion biathlete, who ended his career in 2020. "But I wanted to experience the Olympics with them without it becoming a life goal. When I see this diary, I tell myself they're not just following what their father did."

First, right away, on September 10, 2015, the day my eldest was born, when I felt it was my job to protect this small being. But feeling like a father also brings to mind all the times the children fell asleep in the car, and we carried them from the car to bed when we got home. These were moments when I completely felt like a parent, when I remembered my younger dad doing the same thing. Moments when you feel you've taken the place of those who accompanied you.

"You're just like your father!" I say a lot of horrible things in a joking way to my children because I think they need to acquire a sense of humor at a fairly young age, which isn't necessarily to their mother's taste...

"You're the worst of all dads." My eldest daughter can get carried away when she throws tantrums and says stronger words than she meant. But it's true that I'm not the coolest dad; it's my job to know when to say no, and in these moments, I become "the worst of all dads."

I can't think of any ... But some of my approaches most likely come from my parents. For instance, I try to teach my children a connection with the outdoors and the notion of effort, just as my parents taught me. I introduced my daughters to cross-country skiing and mountain walking – not the most fun activities in the world – because I want to pass on the values I've learned.

A child will be more attracted to downhill skiing than Nordic skiing because it's easier to learn; young children don't necessarily find endurance efforts appealing, but it allows them to be in a privileged mountain environment. Sports are a way of traveling to places that have a special connection to the environment.

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