Irwin and Wright Speed to Ninth Place in Single Mixed Relay

Campbell Wright (USA) and Deedra Irwin (USA), IBU World Cup Biathlon, single mixed relay, Antholz, Italy. (Photo: Manzoni/NordicFocus)

Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, WI/Army World Class Athlete Program) and Campbell Wright (Wanaka, NZL/U.S. Biathlon) skied to a ninth place finish in the single mixed relay at the sixth World Cup of the season in Antholz, Italy. Between the pair, both Irwin and Wright held top-10 ski times throughout the race, finishing only four seconds back from the eighth place Estonia and 30 seconds back from a top-five finish.

“It felt good to ski with everyone today and be in the mix,” said Irwin. “I think we pulled together a great race. The wax techs did an amazing job with the skis. Antholz really showed off her beauty today!”

Despite having to ski a penalty loop each, Irwin and Wright landed just +1.09.5 behind Germany’s leading pair of Vanessa Voigt and Justus Strelow, who used just one spare round. Germany was joined on the podium by Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold and Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen of Norway and Austria’s Lisa Theresa Hauser and Simon Eder.

Of the two single mixed relays this season, Team USA has placed in the top 10 each time. Back in November in Oestersund, Sweden, the pair of Irwin and Sean Doherty (Center Conway, NH/National Guard Biathlon) skied to an eighth place finish, cleaning their prone shoots and only using three spare rounds in standing. Just two months later, Irwin and Wright placed ninth with two added penalty loops, further proving the USA to be dangerous competition.

The third and final single mixed relay of the season will take place on January 15 at the 2024 World Championships in Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic. Team USA will be looking to top their best finish and continue delivering top ski times. For information on how to watch, visit https://usbiathlon.org/how-to-watch. For spectator resources, visit https://usbiathlon.org/spectator-resources.

About U.S. Biathlon

As the Olympic sports organization centered around the sport of biathlon, the United States Biathlon Association, known as U.S. Biathlon, is recognized by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) as the national federation for biathlon in the United States. Founded in 1980, U.S. Biathlon exists to support and encourage the development of biathlon in the United States, to work with biathlon clubs and regional centers around the country to organize training and competition from the grassroots to elite level, and to prepare athletes for international competition. U.S. Biathlon staffs and finances the U.S. Biathlon national and junior national teams and is a 501 c (3) non-profit organization. For more information, visit usbiathlon.org.

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Sara Donatello

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