Campbell Wright, despite being only 24 years old, could be considered a veteran biathlete, with two Olympic Winter Games, five years of World Cup experience, and four IBU World Championships on his resume as he prepares for his sixth season at the sport’s top level.

The 2023 IBU Junior Sprint World Champion closed last season with a personal best 13th in the World Cup Total Score, showing his potential once again, finishing a close second to Total Score winner Eric Perrot in the Nove Mesto Mass Start. It was another performance reminding his rivals that Wright’s two IBU WCH Silver medals at Lenzerheide 2025 were no fluke. The New Zealand native is an athlete who “puts it all on the line” in every start, skiing hard, and shooting aggressively, but at the same time knows biathlon is just sport, not rocket science.

After a hard training day in Seefeld, Austria, the easy-going Wright talked about his Monday routine and why he is not a “couch on a rest day kind of guy.”

Biathlonworld: What time do you wake up on Mondays and what is the first thing you do after waking up?

Campbell Wright: Turn on my coffee machine and watch cycling highlights on YouTube, depending on which time zone I am in. There is always something to watch.

BW: What is the first app you look at when you turn on your phone?

CW: YouTube; I am straight into the long form content!

BW: What makes your breakfast perfect?

BW: Does your early morning include stretching, yoga, a run or mental preparation for the day ahead?

CW: No, if I stretch, I do it when I go to the gym, so twice a week. In the winter, I run and do stretching every morning, probably six times a week. On race days, I get 40 minutes outside, 20 minutes running, 20 minutes stretching.

BW: Do you like to sleep in?

CW: No, I am a morning guy. Sometimes I wish I could sleep in. I am a little bit jealous when I get up at 6:30 and everyone else is in bed. I’d like a piece of that, but it is not the way I am made!

BW: Do you consider yourself a perfectionist when it comes to training?

CW: No, I don’t need to be the best in the world every day. I just need to be the best once in a blue moon!

BW: Are you fearless?

CW: No.

CW: I really don’t like eating breakfast; I don’t enjoy it. I always have oats with maple syrup and yogurt. Sitting around for two hours at breakfast is not my style.

BW: Coffee, tea or…?

CW: Coffee, unless it’s bad coffee. I don’t drink it in the US. We recently had a two-week camp in the US and I was on black tea. My grandma would be proud; she is from the UK!

BW: When the day is over, what do you do to wind down?

CW: I like having an alcohol-free Weissbier. Those are fantastic. One of those, sit down, play a game on my computer or watch a movie; just the usual stuff.

BW: What is the hardest part of being a professional biathlete?

CW: It is not hard. People complicate it more than it needs to be. What we do is very easy. But sometimes the simplicity of it makes people tie themselves in knots. They think it’s something more than it is, but it is not. The hardest part is remembering that it is easy. It is not hard but sometimes it is frustrating how simple it is. You are always looking for the Silver Bullet but it’s just not there.

BW: What piece of advice guides you every day?

CW: Something I think about a lot in my training is, “hard work does not make you special.” Working hard is the absolute bare minimum; 100% is the bare minimum in this game. Everyone is working hard. You are not special because you can do a hard workout; everyone does it. I think it is good to remind yourself that if you did something big hard and extreme, every other person on the start line can do that!

BW: What did the Olympics this year teach you?

CW: I would say it didn’t teach me anything new. I knew getting an Olympic medal is a hard thing to do. I think it taught the people around me that it is hard. A lot of people got there hopes up, but that medal is hard to win. Sometimes, people forget they are not the ones with the bib on.

BW: What is the biggest challenge you have overcome as an athlete?

CW: I think it is coming to terms with not living in New Zealand. I knew that from a very young age, knew what I was getting into. When I think I would rather be in New Zealand, I have to remind myself that I signed up for it. But I got over that around 16 when I realised that I would have to spend most of my time in Europe. I miss the people and culture. If you go golfing in New Zealand and show up in a singlet and shorts, no one looks at you, you are going to have a good time and it will cost you $5. If you go golfing in Austria, it will cost $100 and if you are not fully dressed down in whatever you need to be wearing, people will be saying, ‘what is this guy doing here?’ Things like that kind of wear on me a little bit.

BW: What is your biggest food indulgence, something you cannot live without?

CW: Nutella, every day; two jars a week is what I am on at the moment!

BW: What would you say to a young kid just starting biathlon?

CW: I would say, ‘Biathlon can give you a bloody fantastic lifestyle!’ Biathlon has given me a lot. A lot of the kids I come into contact with do not know what biathlon is. I tell them biathlon is this big thing that can take you everywhere.

BW: How do you spend a day off during summer?

CW: Depending on where I am. In New Zealand, I like to go out in the boat, see my mates, do something with my girlfriend, maybe a round of golf. I am not a “couch on a rest day kind of guy.” I need to be doing something, I know I can’t train or anything too arduous. It is about getting out of the house and doing something that I cannot do on a training day.

With another season approaching, Campbell Wright should be on everyone’s watch list. The talent is there; his relaxed, but highly competitive mindset is there; now all it will take is one of his “once in a blue moon” days and he will stand atop a World Cup podium.

Photos: IBU/Christian Manzoni, Vianney Thibaut, Nordic Focus