Wright Ties Best-Ever Men’s Olympic Result, Eighth in Men’s Pursuit

Campbell Wright delivered a top performance in the men’s 12.5km pursuit, the first of two races on the schedule for today at Südtirol Arena in Antholz-Anterselva, ITA. Wright finished eighth, tying the best-ever Olympic result by an American man and setting a new benchmark for the best-ever Olympic pursuit finish by a U.S. biathlete.

When asked about his speedy final loop, Wright exclaimed,“It was fantastic, I loved it. I loved every single meter of that last loop. It just feels so good to ski well. But, um, yeah I felt great and I thought yeah, I’ll throw my hat in the ring and Tommy and Quentin also were just as strong. It was awesome. I love biathlon and I love racing like that.” 

Despite three misses on the range, Wright’s ski speed was nothing short of exceptional. He posted the second-fastest course time of the day among the 60 athlete field and unleashed the fastest final lap of anyone in the race, powering past Italy’s Tommaso Giacomel and Norway’s Johan‑Olav Botn before lunging to the line in a photo finish with Quentin Fillon-Maillet, who ultimately claimed seventh.

Wright crossed the finish line just +1:13.5 behind the victorious Martin Ponsiluoma of Sweden, who captured Sweden's first gold medal of these Games, followed by Norway’s Sturla Holm Laegreid in silver and France’s Emilien Jacquelin in bronze.

Teammate Paul Schommer showed resilience of his own, battling through four misses on the range to maintain his position throughout the race and finish 48th on the day.