Anderson Makes World Cup Debut, Wright Claims U23 Blue Bib

The opening day of racing in Hochfilzen, AUT brought sunshine, blue skies, large crowds, and solid results for the U.S. Biathlon Team. Highlighting the day was Lucinda Anderson (Golden Valley, MN/Team Birkie) making her World Cup debut, and Campbell Wright (Wanaka, NZL/Waiorau Nordic Skiing) claiming 10th place and the U23 blue bib. 

Anderson first gave biathlon a shot last summer at a U.S. Biathlon Project X development camp. Following her graduation from the University of New Hampshire in June 2024, where she competed in cross-country skiing, Anderson dove into biathlon headfirst, training with the National Team throughout the summer. Making quick progress, she qualified to train in Vuokatti, FIN in November, where she was named to the IBU Cup team. After two stellar race weekends in Idre Fjäll, SWE and Geilo, NOR, Anderson was named by the ICC to compete at the Hochfilzen World Cup. In her debut race, despite missing one target in prone and four in standing, she held a top-20 overall ski time, just +1:00.5 behind the leading overall ski time of Slovakia’s Anamarija Lampic. 

Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, WI/Army World Class Athlete Program) qualified for her ninth-consecutive pursuit with a 49th place finish. Irwin shot a near perfect nine for ten on the range, however a crash on the course impacted her overall ski time. Grace Castonguay (Jackson, NH/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) was deemed the “clean queen” as she shot her first perfect 10 for 10 in an international race. Missing two shots in prone and three in standing, Margie Freed (Apple Valley, MN/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) is back after missing the opening individual races in Kontiolahti, FIN. 

Later in the afternoon, Wright led the men’s team in the 10km sprint with his 10th place finish. Collecting 31 more World Cup points not only puts him 14th in the World Cup Overall, but he is now the number one ranked U23 male athlete on the World Cup, earning himself the esteemed blue bib. Wright is now ahead of his U23 competitor Vitalii Mandzyn of Ukraine by 11 points. 

Teammate Sean Doherty (Conway, NH/Army World Class Athlete Program) missed just one shot per shooting stage to land in 48th and qualify for tomorrow’s men’s 12.5km pursuit. Maxime Germain (Chamonix-Mont Blanc, FRA/National Guard Biathlon) also finished in the top-60 with his 55th place finish, despite missing three shots on the range. Jake Brown (St. Paul, MN/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) fell just out of pursuit contention in 66th place. 

Tomorrow, December 14, Irwin will represent Team USA in the women’s 10km pursuit wearing bib 49. The race is scheduled to begin at 06:15 EST / 12:15 CET. Wright in bib 10, Doherty in bib 48, and Germain in bib 55 will toe the line for the U.S. in the men’s 12.5km pursuit slated for 08:45 EST / 14:45 CET. The World Cup live stream is available through Eurovision Sports. Spectator resources can be found HERE.