US biathlon secures best mixed relay result in four years

ÖSTERSUND, Sweden — Team USA’s biathlon mixed relay squad delivered a strong performance under the lights at the IBU World Cup season opener in Östersund on Sunday, Nov. 30, securing sixth place overall. The team — men’s racers Maxime Germain and Campbell Wright, with women’s competitors Chloe Levins and Deedra Irwin — earned the best World Cup finish for Team USA in the mixed relay since 2021.

“Today, Maxime and Campbell had near-perfect legs and they handed me and Chloe such an awesome leg lead and we just had to hold it together,” Irwin said. “I think we were able to do a pretty good job today of showing that even with a few mistakes, Team USA is a team to watch out for right now.”

Germain set the tone out of the gate, charging to the front and cleaning his prone stage to stay firmly in the mix. Despite needing all three spares in standing, he held on with the third-fastest course time of the leg and handed off to Wright in a strong position.

Wright wasted no time. Skiing with trademark power, he clocked the fastest course time of his leg. After using two spares in prone, he cleaned standing to send Levins out in the lead at exchange two. Levins rose to the moment with composure, avoiding the penalty loop and using just two spares in each stage before tagging Irwin in fifth.

Irwin attacked the anchor leg with confidence, cleaning her prone stage in 23.5 seconds. She stayed steady on the final shooting, using all three spares to avoid the penalty loop. Her last lap became a test of grit as she fought to hold off Sweden’s Hanna Öberg and delivered sixth for the U.S.

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Men’s races

In the season’s first men’s 4 x 7.5 km relay on Saturday, Nov. 29, Team USA finished fifth, 1:25 behind Norway. France was second and Sweden third before the home crowd. It was the best U.S. men’s relay result since their fourth place at the 2024 Soldier Hollow World Cup.

Paul Schommer opened in brutal winds, using two spares in prone and incurring two penalty loops in standing. Maxime Germain steadied the second leg, avoiding penalty loops and hitting all 10 targets with two prone spares and three standing spares.

Campbell Wright then delivered the fastest ski time of his leg, using two spares in prone and one in standing to move the U.S. into podium contention before handing to anchor Sean Doherty. Doherty cleaned prone and used one standing spare to secure a top-five finish.

Earlier, the women’s relay team of Levins, Irwin, Lucinda Anderson and Margie Freed opened the 2025–26 season with a 16th-place finish, a platform to build on in the months ahead.