U.S. Biathlon Team Sees Breakthrough Performances at World Championships
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by Sara Donatello
The U.S. Biathlon Team wrapped up another historic and action-packed World Championships in Lenzerheide, SUI, with standout performances and breakthrough results across the board. From back-to-back silver medals to pursuit debuts to personal bests, the team brought the heat on the international stage.
“This was a truly unprecedented moment for US Biathlon," said U.S. Biathlon Director of High Performance Lowell Bailey. "This is the first sprint World Championship podium for a U.S. male, and the first pursuit podium for any U.S. biathlete in history! Watching Campbell go head to head with the greatest biathletes in the world, and beat most of them, was nothing short of astounding. It was also amazing to watch the entire team in peak performance on the world stage at just the right time. I can’t say enough about the preparation and hard work that each athlete and staff member put in throughout this season and the last several years to get us to this moment. A huge congratulations to the team for an incredible run in Lenzerheide; a great harbinger of things to come in the quickly approaching Olympic season!”
In the women’s sprint, Chloe Levins (Williston, VT/Unaffiliated) led the U.S. women in 52nd place, landing her first World Championships pursuit qualification. Lucinda Anderson (Golden Valley, MN/Team Birkie) made her World Championships debut in the sprint, racing to 56th and holding the 23rd overall ski time to propel her into her first-ever World Cup pursuit. Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, WI/Army World Class Athlete Program) skied well and shot clean in prone, but tricky conditions in standing left her with four penalty laps and finished 63rd overall. Margie Freed (Apple Valley, MN/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) held the 34th overall ski time of the women’s field, but two misses in both prone and standing landed her just behind Irwin in 64th.
Campbell Wright (Wanaka, NZL/Waiorau Nordic Skiing) made history in the men’s sprint as the first U.S. male to medal in a World Championships sprint event. A perfect 10 for 10 and ninth fastest overall ski time, Wright bested 96 of 97 sprint competitors to see his first-ever World Championship podium. Teammate Maxime Germain (Chamonix-Mont Blanc, FRA) also hit a World Championship personal best with his 12th place finish, cleaning all 10 targets and posting a 22nd ski time. Sean Doherty (Conway, NH/Army World Class Athlete Program), with a 45th overall ski time, raced to 41st, missing just one target in prone and cleaning his standing shoot. Paul Schommer (Appleton, WI/Team Birkie/Ariens Nordic Center), in his first World Championship start since 2023, placed all four U.S. men in the top 60 with his 56th place finish.
The women’s pursuit saw Levins and Anderson both move up in the field in their first-ever World Championship pursuit races. Levins jumped from bib 52 to land in 48th overall and Anderson from bib 56 to finish just behind Levins in 49th.
After a historic World Championship silver medal in the men’s 10km sprint, Wright was back on the podium with yet another historic silver medal in the men’s 12.5km pursuit - the first U.S. athlete to medal in a pursuit race, and the first U.S. athlete to win back-to-back medals at a World Championship event! Missing just one target in his first prone stage, Wright went on to clean the final three stages of his race and solidify his second place position.
Germain, despite missing four targets on the day, had the 22nd overall ski time to land his third-best result this season in 21st place. Schommer was the biggest mover amongst the U.S. men, jumping 17 positions to land 39th overall. Doherty rounded out the U.S. men with a solid 45th place finish.
Irwin led the women in the individual, landing 29th in the field of 91 athletes, shooting 18 for 20 and posting the 32nd overall ski time. Levins mirrored Irwin on the range, hitting 18 of 20 targets to cross the line in 41st overall, marking a new World Championship personal best. Finishing just 13 seconds back from Levins, Anderson placed three U.S. women in the top-45, also racing to her World Championship personal best 42nd. Anderson posted a 12th overall ski time and shot a solid 80% with four misses overall. Grace Castonguay (Jackson, NH/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) rounded out the women in 77th in her World Championship debut, also with four misses on the day.
In the men’s individual, Wright skied to 23rd, posting the 12th overall ski time in the field of 96 athletes. Schommer held 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. Germain rounded out the U.S. men in 62nd, with four misses on the day.
The single mixed relay duo of Wright and Irwin raced to 16th overall. Tricky shooting conditions saw Irwin on the penalty lap three times, yet she kept pushing on the skis with the eighth overall ski time on her first leg and 11th overall time on her second leg. Wright needed just two spare rounds total to secure the 16th place result.
After a day of rest, the men’s 4x7.5km relay saw Schommer, Germain, Wright, and Doherty team up and race to a solid ninth place finish. The quad performed on the range, using just 11 spare rounds total and avoiding the penalty loop altogether.
The final day of racing in Lenzerheide had Wright and Germain on the start line for the men’s 15km mass start, Germain’s first-ever start in the discipline. Wright raced to fourth place, shooting 18 for 20 and posting the fifth overall ski time, marking his third flower ceremony appearance in the last two weeks, an immense accomplishment for the 22 year old. Germain raced to 28th overall, shooting 16 for 20 to round out a solid showing at the 2025 World Championships.
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