- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,270,070
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
Norway's gold-medallists Jens Luraas Oftebro and Andreas Skoglund celebrate during the medal ceremony of the men's Nordic Combined team Sprint cross-country competition at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina. Daniel Karmann/dpa
Norway's Jens Lurås Oftebro won his third gold of the Milan/Cortina Olympics in the Nordic combined team sprint on Thursday as Germany - thanks to a double fall - ended a Winter Games without a medal in the discipline for the first time since 1998.
After missing the podium in the normal hill and large hill events won in style by Oftebro, Germans Johannes Rydzek and Vinzenz Geiger made sure they led at the halfway mark of the sport which combines ski jumping and cross country skiing.
Rydzek (123 metres) and Geiger (122.5m) shone in heavy snow on the Predazzo large hill. It gave them a 13-second advantage over Norway in the cross country ski sprint - down the road in Tesero where the blizzard continued.
That lead was soon reeled in though during the 15 kilometre relay and the pair's hopes ended when defending World Cup champion Geiger fell twice on the course, once colliding with Japan's Ryota Yamamoto.
Oftebro and team-mate Andreas Skoglund prevailed as the former won a tight finish in the falling snow with Finland's Eero Hirvonen.
"It was more than I expected to get three golds. It was hard out there today but both of us were strong even though it was tricky to stay on the skis and not crash," Oftebro said.
His three golds along with team victory at Beijing 2022 pulled him level with retired compatriot Jørgen Graabak on a record of four Nordic combined Olympic golds.
Oftebro added: "It was a challenging one but I’m really happy to have this end to the competition with a team gold. It is always a big goal to win a gold with the team because it is not just us, it is for everybody – the waxers, all the staff and other athletes – so it is a perfect ending."
The Finns, also including Ilkka Herola, were second at +0.5 with Austria third despite their own fall from Steffen Rettenegger.
Germany finished fifth behind Italy in the final Nordic combined event at the Games and possibly ever.
Geiger told broadcaster ARD of his falls: "I don't really know (what happened). It all went very quickly, I have no idea."
Nordic combined is fighting for its Olympic future in the French Alps in 2030, with a decision due in June. Women's competition was controversially not included in Milan/Cortina.
You must be registered for see images attach
Norway's Jens Luraas Oftebro celebrates victory at the finish line of the men's Nordic Combined team Sprint cross-country competition at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina. Daniel Karmann/dpa
Continue reading...
