Germain Hits Personal Best With 11th in Östersund Sprint, Wright Puts Two in the Top 20

Maxime Germain (Chamonix-Mont Blanc, FRA/National Guard Biathlon) led the U.S. squad in today’s men’s 10km sprint. With speedy skis and just one miss on the range, he delivered a World Cup personal best 11th-place finish. Germain crossed the line just +50.9 seconds behind winner Johan-Olav Botn of Norway, who shared the podium with teammate Martin Uldal and France’s Quentin Fillon-Maillet, celebrating his 60th career individual World Cup podium.

Not only was the 11th place finish Germain’s personal best, but he is now the leading contender to qualify for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Winter Games, per U.S. Biathlon’s phase 2 selection criteria of achieving a top-20 individual result in a first trimester World Cup race.

“Achieving this personal best shows Maxime’s consistency and reflects the continued progress he has made,” said U.S. Biathlon Head Coach Armin Auchentaller. “It’s always exciting to witness Maxime push the limits of what’s possible and to see him placing among the best in the world. His belief in the process and his dedication to the plan are seen through his results and it’s great to see him stepping up year after year!”

Campbell Wright (Wanaka, NZL/Waiorau Nordic Club) followed close behind in 18th, putting two U.S. men in the top 20 for the day. Wright, in his words, “blew up” in his second shooting, missing two in standing, but held his ski speed to land his 18th place finish. Paul Schommer (Appleton, WI/Team Birkie/Ariens Nordic Center) raced to a solid 46th place, where he missed just one in prone and cleaned in standing. Sean Doherty (Conway, NH/Army World Class Athlete Program) missed two in his prone stage and two in standing, but battled back against the tough course conditions to finish inside the top 60 in 53rd to qualify all four U.S. men to the pursuit. 

Yesterday, on the women’s side, Margie Freed (Apple Valley, MN/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) led the women in 35th, earning her first World Cup points of the season. Chloe Levins (Williston, VT/Mansfield Nordic Pro) followed in 60th to secure two U.S. starts in the women’s pursuit. Luci Anderson (Golden Valley, MN/Team Birkie) logged the 17th-fastest ski time of the day, but with one miss in prone and four in standing, she finished 84th and outside pursuit qualification.

The final day of racing in Östersund, SWE begins tomorrow with a pursuit double header. The women’s 10km pursuit kicks off at 7:15 ET/13:15 CET, followed by the men’s 12.5km pursuit at 9:20 ET/15:20 CET. Live stream is available through Eurovision Sports and live updates can be found on the IBU App; for information on how to watch, click HERE.