Biathlon skier Campbell Wright delivered one of the best performances of his career in his Olympic debut in the Men's 20km Individual race.
Campbell Wright Photo: PHOTOSPORT
At just 19 years old, Wright was the youngest competitor in the field and proved he is right up there with the world's best.
Wright finished in 32nd place out of 92 competitors, just +4:12.4s behind the winner. He shot well on the range, hitting 18/20 targets.
"That was the second best score I've shot in an individual - today was a good day!" explained Wright after his race.
"I feel really good, I'm really happy with that performance and can't wait for more Olympic racing."
Wright is competing a further two times during the Winter Olympic Games, in the Men's 10km Sprint on the 12th of February and the Men's 12.5km Pursuit on the 13th of February.
Meanwhile ice speed skater Peter Michael was also in action at the National Speed Skating Oval.
Michael was first up of the 31 athletes in the 1,500m race, with the draw forcing him to skate alone, whereas the others skated in pairs.
Despite not being able to draft into a slipstream, Michael still managed to post a respectable time of 1:48.68s to finish 26th.
"I went out there and gave it everything I had," said Michael. "Unfortunately that wasn't enough tonight but I'm going to reset and prepare for my next race."
Michael will contest the 10,000m on Friday.
Peter Michael Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Other Olympic news:
World record holder Kjeld Nuis edged out his rivals to win the men's 1,500 metres, retaining his title to continue the Dutch gold rush in speed skating at the Games. The Dutch speed skating team have now won six medals at the Games, including three gold.
Austria's Matthias Mayer became the first man to win an Alpine skiing gold medal at three consecutive Olympic Games after winning the super-G. Mayer, who won gold in downhill in Sochi in 2014 and super-G in Pyeongchang four years ago, finished ahead of American Ryan Cochran-Siegle and Norway's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, the World Cup super-G leader. Mayer won bronze in the downhill.
Nathan Chen claimed redemption at the Beijing Games after his world record short programme in the men's figure skating helped erase the disappointment of his Pyeongchang flop four years ago. The world champion's stunning 113.97-point skate at Capital Indoor Stadium wiped the previous record of 111.82 set by Japanese rival and Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu at the 2020 Four Continents tournament. The 22-year-old Chen is top of the standings heading into Thursday's free skate ahead of Japanese duo Yuma Kagiyama (108.12) and Shoma Uno (105.90).
Italy clinched their first Olympic curling medal when Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner edged Norway's Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten 8-5 to win the mixed doubles gold. Sweden clinched bronze after a 9-3 win over Britain.
Canada beat archrivals the United States 4-2 in what many forecast was a preview of the women's ice hockey gold medal final at the Beijing Games. The Group A preliminary round contest mattered little in the standings with both teams having already secured spots in the knockout round.
Germany's Natalie Geisenberger, the most decorated woman in luge, held her nerve where rivals crashed to set a new track record, claiming gold in the singles, and extend her nation's dominance of the event to 24 years.
San Francisco-born Eileen Gu, who lifted the host country to the top of the medals table at the Beijing Olympics with a freeski Big Air gold, remained evasive on whether she was still holding an American passport. China does not allow dual nationality, and state media have previously reported that the 18-year-old renounced her U.S. citizenship after she became a Chinese national at the age of 15.
China will invite more spectators to attend the games as the COVID-19 situation is under control within the "closed-loop" bubble, which separates all event personnel from the public, an official from the Beijing organisers said. China did not sell tickets to the public amid concerns over the spread of the pandemic but selected a number of spectators from targeted groups of people who are required to undertake strict COVID prevention measures.
- RNZ / Reuters
