The United States Biathlon Association Welcomes Campbell Wright to the National Team
by Sara Donatello
New Gloucester, ME – The United States Biathlon Association announced today the official addition of Campbell Wright to the U.S. Biathlon National Team.
In collaboration with Wright, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, New Zealand Olympic Committee, Biathlon New Zealand, International Biathlon Union and International Olympic Committee, U.S. Biathlon is grateful for the support and commitment of all parties involved to finalize this process.
Wright, born in Wanaka, New Zealand, is a dual citizen of both New Zealand and the United States, where both of his parents were born. Growing up skiing at the Snowfarm, building his biathlon base under the silver fern, he is proud to have achieved notable success representing New Zealand.
"I have made the decision to swap nations to the US, because it gives me the best chance to be able to reach my goals,'' said Wright. “To reach the top in any sport is hard, and it's only made harder without the proper team around you. So if I want to be the best biathlete I can be, changing to Team USA is the clear option.''
Last season, Wright trained, traveled and zeroed with U.S. Biathlon, and was coached by U.S. Biathlon’s Armin Auchentaller and Emil Bormetti. His international travels were supported by the U.S. Biathlon Association, and will continue to be supported as a United States athlete.
Wright topped the juniors with a gold medal finish in the sprint at the 2023 Junior World Championships in Schuchinsk, Kazakhstan. He has made a name for himself amongst the senior biathletes as well, as his top-15 finish at the 2022 Antholz (ITA) World Cup punched him a ticket to the 2022 Beijing Olympics as a 19-year-old. Finishing top-20 at the 2023 World Championships in Oberhof, Germany only added to Wrights list of impressive achievements.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Campbell to the U.S. team,” said Lowell Bailey, U.S. Biathlon Director of High Performance. “He has been a great teammate and a huge addition to the National Team training group over the last year so we know he will add a lot to the program.”
“We are thrilled that Campbell is joining our national team athletes to inspire the biathlon community and our country, and look forward to supporting him as a member of our team as we all strive towards sustained competitive excellence,” said Jack Gierhart, U.S. Biathlon President and CEO. “We are grateful for the support of New Zealand Biathlon during this transition, and commend and respect the role it has played in Campbell’s journey and success.”
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About U.S. Biathlon
As the Olympic sports organization centered around the sport of biathlon, the United States Biathlon Association, known as U.S. Biathlon, is recognized by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) as the National Federation for biathlon in the United States. Founded in 1980, U.S. Biathlon exists to support and encourage the development of biathlon in the United States, to work with biathlon clubs and regional centers around the country to organize training and competition from the grassroots to elite level, and to prepare athletes for international competition. U.S. Biathlon staffs and finances the U.S. Biathlon national and junior national teams and is a 501 c (3) non-profit organization. For more information, visit usbiathlon.org.
Media Contact
Sara Donatello
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