It was a long nervous wait, but 19-year-old Campbell Wright has had his dream of representing New Zealand at the Olympics finally realised.
Quick facts:
Name: Campbell Wright
Hometown: Wānaka
Age at Games: 19
Olympic history: Debut
Wright is set to become only New Zealand's second biathlete at the Winter Olympics and is recognised as one of the brightest prospects in the sport.
The Wānaka athlete has recently become just the second teenager in the history of biathlon to win World Cup points and has attracted attention from his competitors.
“In the entire world there is not another Campbell Wright. I speak to a lot of coaches from big national federations and they’re all jealous of him,” his coach Luca Bormolini told 1News in December.
His parents are both American and he has dual citizenship. For some time Team USA has been encouraging him to "come to the dark side".
But Wright has only ever wanted to don the silver fern.
"To be able to represent New Zealand at the Winter Olympic Games is pretty special and I can’t wait to get there," he said after his selection was announced.
Wright will contest the 10km men’s sprint event, and has received permission to start in the 20km men’s individual, the 12.5km men’s pursuit and the 15km men’s mass start as well.
Beijing 2022 schedule:
February 8 9.30pm (TBC): Biathlon 20km individual
February 12 10pm: Biathlon 10km sprint
February 13 11.45pm (TBC): Biathlon 12.5km pursuit
February 18 10pm (TBC): Biathlon 15km mass start
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