Schommer Hits World Championship Personal Best, Three U.S. Men in Top 25

Building on momentum from yesterday’s women’s individual, the U.S. men toed the line today, February 19, for the 20km individual on yet another day of blue skies and sunshine in Lenzerheide, SUI. A windy afternoon made for tricky shooting conditions, but the U.S. team battled through and placed three in the top-25, one of which being a World Championship personal best result. 

Leading the U.S. men in the individual was Campbell Wright (Wanaka, NZL/Waiorau Nordic Skiing) who skied to 23rd overall. Despite missing a total of four targets, Wright flew on the skis today, posting the 12th overall ski time in the field of 96 athletes. Wright has already earned two World Championship silver medals thus far in both the sprint and pursuit, making history as the first U.S. athlete to win two medals at a single World Championship at just 22 years old. 

After making his return to international racing in January, Paul Schommer (Appleton, WI/Team Birkie/Ariens Nordic Center) made continual progress that landed him back-to-back bronze medals at IBU Cup 6 in Ridnaun, ITA ahead of World Championships. Heading into Lenzerheide 2025 with momentum, the individual marked Schommer’s third start at the event. He posted the 26th overall ski time to secure a World Championship personal best 24th, just four seconds back from Wright. 

Jake Brown (St. Paul, MN/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) landed three U.S. men in the top-25 with his 25th place finish. Brown tied for the 27th overall ski time and with three misses on the day, crossing the line four seconds behind Schommer and eight seconds behind Wright. This was Brown’s third consecutive top-30 result as he placed 26th in the men’s sprint and 28th in the pursuit at World Cup 6 in Antholz, ITA. 

Maxime Germain (Chamonix-Mont Blanc, FRA/National Guard Biathlon) rounded out the U.S. men in 62nd, with four misses on the day. Germain started his second World Championships with a personal best 12th in the men’s sprint, followed by 21st in the pursuit. 

Tomorrow’s single mixed relay will feature the duo of Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, WI/Army World Class Athlete Program) and Wright. At last year’s World Championships in Nove Mesto, CZE, Irwin and Wright raced to a historic seventh place in the single mixed relay. Racing will begin at 10:05 EST/16:05 CET with a live stream available on Eurovision Sport.