Biathlon: New Zealand and Snow Farm follow the exploits of the local boy
Campbell Wright won two medals in two races at the Biathlon World Championships in Lenzerheide (Switzerland). Although he is now wearing an American jumpsuit, the 22-year-old will be racing under the New Zealand banner until 2023.
Born in Auckland, he actually grew up in the Wānaka region, where he started cross-country skiing at the age of ten and took up biathlon in 2017. He took part in the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games, placing fourth in the sprint and sixth in the individual event contested at the Tuffes Stadium in Prémanon (Jura).
He then went on to compete for New Zealand at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. In China, he finished 32nd in the individual event.
Finally, in March 2023, he won the sprint title at the world junior championships in Kazakhstan, becoming the first athlete from the southern hemisphere to win a biathlon medal.
When he changed his sporting nationality, articles appeared in his country’s press. ” The second New Zealand biathlete to qualify for the Winter Olympics has reluctantly decided to join the United States for the sake of his career, a decision based on the resources available to the American team”, wrote the New Zealand Herald, for example.
Two years later, the Kiwi’s exploits in Graubünden are not (yet?) making the headlines. But more than 18,700 km away, Campbell Wright has not fallen into oblivion for all that. For example, the wanakaapp.nz app, which covers news from Wānaka, has reported on the prowess of the local boy. ” The biathlete, who cut his teeth at the Snow Farm in Wānaka and now represents the USA, took second place behind Norwegian great Johannes Thingnes Boe, who is due to retire at the end of this year, pushing French star Quentin Fillon-Maillet into third place,” it reported on Saturday evening.
If our colleague pointed out that “Campbell’s medal is only the fourth ever won by the United States at the World Championships” (before the pursuit medal), it was in order to emphasise that New Zealand had played its part in the achievement.
“We have to remember that New Zealand and Snow Farm helped them get there,” says John Burridge, trustee of the Pisa Alpine Charitable Trust (owners of Snow Farm and Merino Muster Ltd).
Read also
- Biathlon: Campbell Wright officially becomes an American biathlete
- Biathlon | Lenzerheide: Johannes Thingnes Boe world pursuit champion ahead of the astonishing Campbell Wright, Eric Perrot in bronze
