Wright Lands Top 30 in Men’s Individual

The clouds rolled back in for the first individual competition of the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games. The men’s 20km individual delivered exactly what it’s known for: a long, grinding test where patience and precision matter as much as ski speed. 

Campbell Wright (Wanaka, NZL/Waiorau Nordic Skiing) led the way for Team USA, finishing inside the top 30 in 27th. A solid performance on the range with just two misses on the day, Wright had a much needed redemption from the mixed relay. After crossing the finish line, he summed up the challenge simply: “Man, that was tough.” 

The men’s individual podium saw Norway’s Johan-Olav Botn take the win in his Olympic debut race. France’s Eric Perrot secured silver, and Botn’s teammate Sturla Holm Laegreid raced to bronze. 

Paul Schommer (Appleton, WI/Team Birkie/Ariens Nordic Center) was nearly flawless on the range, shooting 19 for 20, and finished 44th, while Maxime Germain (Chamonix-Mont Blanc, FRA/National Guard Biathlon) missed three shots and placed 67th. Sean Doherty (Conway, NH/Army World Class Athlete Program), with six misses, finished 80th.

While the men will have a day off from racing tomorrow, the women toe the line in the 15km individual, a race that holds special significance for U.S. Biathlon. It was in this discipline at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games that Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, WI/Army World Class Athlete Program) raced to a historic seventh place, still the best-ever Olympic finish by an American biathlete in history.