Dowling started the action in Gangwon, South Korea, with a promising effort on the track at the Alpensia sliding centre.
She had a solid first run, reaching a dizzying top speed of 101kmh to clock a time of 50.25sec.
Her second run was even better, as she flew through the course for a combined time of 1min 40.3sec to finish 21st overall.
"It was really good", Dowling said.
"I was definitely nervous but I’m proud of myself for putting down that time. It was an amazing experience and such a cool opportunity."
Over at the curling rink, the New Zealanders started with a pair of losses.
They were beaten by Sweden (9-3) and the United States (8-4), and were playing China last night.
The all-Otago New Zealand team consists of Jack Steele (Naseby), Olivia Russell (Maniototo), Jed Nevill (Moa Creek) and Ellie McKenzie (Dunedin).
It was an international debut for both Steele and McKenzie.
Wanaka biathlete Baxter Pollard was the final New Zealand athlete in action on the opening day.
Pollard struggled in tricky conditions in the 12.5km event, finishing 96th, but took some positives away from the experience.
"It was a hard course and it’s been snowing so it was soft but it was a fun experience overall", Pollard said.
"It’s cool for me because any competitions I’ve done in the past it’s just been biathlon so it’s nice having the other sports here."
Pollard will be in action in the sprint distance tomorrow.
