Oslo Brings Sunshine for World Cup Finale

The finale of the 2024-25 BMW IBU World Cup season took place at the famous Holmenkollen venue in Oslo, NOR this past weekend. Three days of competition featured a sprint, pursuit and mass start, the final opportunities to rack up World Cup points this season. 

Kicking things off on Friday, March 21, the men’s 10km sprint saw three of the four U.S. men qualify for the pursuit. Campbell Wright (Wanaka, NZL/Waiorau Nordic Skiing) led in 34th place overall. Despite four laps around the penalty loop after his first shooting stage, Wright managed to hold the 10th overall ski time of the field of 106 athletes. Jake Brown (St. Paul, MN/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) followed in 51st with two misses on the day. Maxime Germain (Chamonix-Mont Blanc, FRA/National Guard Biathlon) clinched the top-60 with his 56th place result, holding the seventh overall shooting time. In his first race back since World Championships, Paul Schommer (Appleton, WI/Team Birkie/Ariens Nordic Center) missed out on pursuit qualification in 81st. 

Following the conclusion of the men’s race, the U.S. women toed the line for the 7.5km sprint. Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, WI/Army World Class Athlete Program) led the results in 45th place, holding a top 25 ski time to propel herself into the final pursuit of the season. Chloe Levins (Willison, VT/Unaffiliated), Lucinda Anderson (Golden Valley, MN/Team Birkie), and Margie Freed (Apple Valley, MN/Craftsbury Green Racing Project) all fell out of pursuit contention. Levins, shooting a near perfect nine for ten, crossed the line in 68th. Anderson was able to hold the 29th overall ski time, despite three misses on the range, to land 88th, and Freed, with four misses on the day, finished 98th. 

Pursuit day brought the heat as Wright, Brown and Germain collectively jumped 62 positions. Wright landed eighth overall, his ninth top 10 finish this season, jumping 26 positions from bib 34, the biggest mover in the field with the third overall course time and fourth overall pursuit performance. Brown, the second biggest mover in the field, secured his fourth top 30 result this season in 29th place, a 22 position jump from bib 51. Germain, moving up 14 positions overall, landed 42nd on the day. Irwin, the sole U.S. woman competing in the pursuit, raced to 51st overall. 

The final day of competition saw Wright toe the line in the men’s 15km mass start. Two misses in his second prone stage dropped him to 18th in the field of 30, but Wright managed to climb his way back shooting 10 for 10 in standing and finish 11th overall to round out his season. Following the race, Wright was awarded the U23 globe as the top U23 male athlete in the world, a title he has held since December 13, 2024 when he surpassed Ukraine’s Vitalii Mandzyn on the World Cup Total Score. This historic feat added yet another piece of silverware to Wright’s collection of two World Championship silver medals. 

With the 2024-25 international racing season now in the rearview, the athletes will head their separate ways - some head to the CISM Military World Games, some to Bozeman, MT for the 2025 U.S. Biathlon Senior Nationals and Spring Festival, and some home to finally take a rest after a long four months of competition. Thank you to the biathlon community for your continued support of the U.S. Biathlon Team, and congratulations to the athletes, coaches, and staff on a fantastic and memorable season!