Flag-bearer Campbell Wright claimed a sixth-place finish in the 12.5km biathlon yesterday in Lausanne.
The Hawea Flat athlete was competing in a field of 99 and had been aiming for a top 20 finish.
At one point he had been in a medal position, but a poor shooting round dropped him back to 12th.
"The race went pretty mean overall," he said.
"For the first two loops I was sitting in second or third, then I came into the third shoot and made a few mistakes which kicked me back, but I managed to claw my way back and finishing sixth was so sick.
"I absolutely loved that race, it was so cool out there and there was heaps of support so that was amazing.”
He will also compete in the 7.5km biathlon and the cross country skiing.
Meanwhile, the curling team — made up of Otago quartet Zoe Harman, Lucy Neilson, Hunter Walker and Will Becker — has started with two wins.
They beat Slovenia 8-4 in their opener, before slotting two stones on the final end to edge France 6-4 in a tight match.
