Flowers for Wright to Conclude 2025 World Championships
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by Sara Donatello
Campbell Wright (Wanaka, NZL/Waiorau Nordic Skiing) raced to fourth place in the men’s 15km mass start to wrap up the 2025 BMW IBU World Championships in Lenzerheide, SUI. Wright crossed the line just +31.4 behind the victorious Norwegian Endre Stroemsheim and +18.7 back from a podium finish after a thrilling final lap.
When asked about chasing Johannes Thinges Boe for the bronze medal on the final lap, Wright said, “I just really hoped he was faking being good, but he wasn’t faking, he’s really just that good. I’m pretty sure I skied faster than him in the pursuit, but this time I was thinking ‘wow, this is hard, this is really hard’, and I knew I was going to blow up, but I figured why not give one last dig to see if maybe he was faking, but he’s legit.”
The final race of the two-week-long event saw a Norwegian podium sweep with Stroemsheim holding the world champion title, Sturla Holm Laegreid in second and JT Boe landing in third place. With Wright in fourth place, Martin Ponsiluoma of Sweden and Tommaso Giacomel of Italy rounded out the flower ceremony in fifth and sixth, respectively.
Starting in bib three, Wright’s fourth place finish marked his third flower ceremony appearance in the last two weeks. First, his silver-medal performance and maiden World Championship podium in the men’s 10km sprint, followed by yet another silver medal in the men’s 12.5km pursuit, making history as the first U.S. athlete to win back-to-back medals at a World Championship event.
“I definitely have confidence,” said Wright in reference to future races and the upcoming 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games. “I will attack anyone who is standing in front of me. I’m not shy to give it a crack, and of course I blow up sometimes, but I’m really not afraid to ski and shoot with the big dogs. It’s honestly just a good feeling to be at this level. It’s where I wanted to be my whole life and now I’m here, so it’s just amazing.”
In addition to Wright’s successes, teammate Maxime Germain (Chamonix-Mont Blanc, FRA/National Guard Biathlon), who saw his first-ever start in the discipline today, raced to 28th overall. Germain began the 2025 World Championships with a 12th place sprint finish and 21st place pursuit finish, securing his spot in the exclusive mass start.
The end of World Championships marks the start of a much deserved week-long break for the U.S. Biathlon Team. Trimester three racing will begin in Nove Mesto na Morave, CZE on March 6.
