Biathlon skier Campbell Wright delivered one of the best performances of his career in his Olympic debut in the Men’s 20km Individual race.

At just 19 years old, the Lake Hāwea athlete was the youngest competitor in the field and proved he's up there with the world's best.

Wright finished in 32nd place out of 92 competitors, just +4:12.4s behind the winner. He hit 18/20 targets on the range.

"That was the 2nd best score I've shot in an individual - today was a good day!" he said after his race.

"I feel really good, I'm really happy with that performance and can't wait for more Olympic racing."

Coach Luca Bormolini was also proud of Wright's performance, saying it was his best race, both in speed and shooting accuracy.

Wright is competing a further two times during the Beijing Winter Olympics, in the Men's 10km Sprint on 12 February and the Men's 12.5km Pursuit on 13 February.

Meanwhile Wellington-based ice speed skater Peter Michael was also in action at the National Speed Skating Oval.

Michael, 32, originally of Palmerston North, was first up of the 31 athletes, 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," he said. "Unfortunately that wasn't enough tonight but I'm going to reset and prepare for my next race."

Michael will contest the 10,000m tomorrow.

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