Nordic Combined
Nordic combined: Vinzenz Geiger to miss start of the season due to foot injury
November 10, 2025 / Sportschau
Germany’s Vinzenz Geiger, double Olympic champion and last season’s overall World Cup winner, suffered three bony ligament avulsions in his right foot during strength training and will miss the start of the Olympic season. He will skip the early World Cup stops in Kuusamo and Lillehammer while beginning rehab, with head coach Eric Frenzel saying the injury should heal without long-term issues. With Jarl Magnus Riiber retired, Geiger had been considered a leading favorite for the new season.
Nordic combined chief on Riiber: Yesterday’s ‘break’ was decisive – Riiber ends his Olympics and flies home
November 04, 2025 / Eurosport Norge
Norway’s Nordic combined sports director Ivar Stuan says Jarl Magnus Riiber is ending his Olympic campaign and will return home to Norway on Thursday. Stuan explains that a setback the day before was decisive for the decision. The piece is presented as a video segment on Eurosport.
Lasse Ottesen: “If you’re not following Nordic Combined, you’re missing out”
November 03, 2025 / FIS
FIS Nordic Combined Race Director Lasse Ottesen previews the 2025/26 World Cup season, calling it one of the most thrilling in years with a historically close overall battle and new venues as the Olympics approach. He reflects on format evolution, highlighting successes like the Seefeld TRIPLE and the enduring impact of the Gundersen method, and stresses the rapid rise of Women’s Nordic Combined with ambitions for Olympic inclusion in 2030. Ottesen also shares behind‑the‑scenes challenges, such as a timing-system power scare in Ruka, and teases further innovations to come.
‘Silver hero’ on his comeback: ‘I didn’t believe it’
October 29, 2025 / Eurosport Norway
A Eurosport video segment features Norwegian Nordic combined star Jørgen Graabak reflecting on his late-race surge to secure an Olympic silver medal, the fourth Olympic medal of his career. He admits he “didn’t believe” he could close the gap before producing a dramatic finish.
Samuel Costa: “The passion for the sport is still the same”
October 28, 2025 / FIS
Italian Nordic Combined athlete Samuel Costa has reversed his 2024 retirement and is returning to compete through the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympics. In an interview he cites fresh motivation, a greater appreciation of the Olympic stage, a confidence-boosting Team Sprint win in Chaux‑Neuve, and a healthier mindset—including stepping back from social media—while noting how the sport has become more professional and equipment‑driven.
Annalena Slamik: "If you keep your joy, the results will come by themselves"
October 23, 2025 / FIS
Austrian Nordic Combined athlete Annalena Slamik reflects on her growth since debuting at the historic first women’s World Cup in Ramsau 2020, noting improved ski jumping and cross-country form and greater composure. She praises the rapid progress of women’s Nordic Combined—more World Cups, larger hills, and broader participation—while lamenting the Olympic exclusion. Slamik highlights her first top-10 in Otepää, her love for Mixed Team events, and her goal to stay healthy, enjoy the sport, and achieve more consistent top results; she also discusses a behind-the-scenes social media project with teammate Claudia Purker.
Ahead of the Olympics, Lisa Hirner rejects switch to ski jumping
October 07, 2025 / krone.at
Austrian Nordic combined athlete Lisa Hirner says she will remain in Nordic combined for the 2025–26 season, despite women’s Nordic combined not being on the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic program and Austria’s women’s ski jumping team being depleted. She kept a potential Olympic path open by earning enough FIS points in Hinterzarten to be eligible for top-level women’s ski jumping and could contest an internal ÖSV selection, but stressed she is “100% a combined athlete.” Hirner criticized the continued exclusion of women’s Nordic combined from the Games, noted her improved health after a Hashimoto’s diagnosis last season, and contrasted her stance with Gyda Westvold-Hansen’s switch to special jumping.
Building stronger events together: Nordic LOC Seminar 2025
October 07, 2025 / FIS (International Ski & Snowboard Federation)
FIS gathered 67 representatives from 32 Local Organizing Committees and National Ski Associations in Val di Fiemme for the Nordic LOC Seminar on October 3–4, 2025. Race directors and guest experts led sessions on fan engagement, volunteer management, sponsorship activation, and NSA–LOC collaboration, followed by workshops tackling real event challenges around World Cup races. Participants highlighted the value of sharing best practices to elevate event quality and fan experience across Nordic disciplines.
Nordic Combined Committee looks ahead: growth, innovation, and Olympic ambitions
October 03, 2025 / FIS (International Ski & Snowboard Federation)
FIS’s Nordic Combined Committee reviewed strong audience growth and unveiled the largest-ever 2025/26 World Cup calendar, including more women’s large-hill events and the men’s first ski flying competition at Kulm. The committee confirmed equipment rule tweaks, a 10% World Cup prize money increase (with an optional additional 10% by organizers), and equal overall prize money for men and women. With 64% of Milano Cortina 2026 Nordic Combined tickets already sold, FIS is campaigning for the discipline’s inclusion in the 2030 Olympic Winter Games, with an IOC decision expected in spring 2026.
Austria celebrates podium sweep in Val di Fiemme
September 21, 2025 / FIS
Austria dominated the Nordic Combined Summer Grand Prix finale in Val di Fiemme, sweeping the men’s podium and taking the top five places. Stefan Rettenegger won after a late surge in the 10 km roller ski race, with Franz-Josef Rehrl second and Paul Walcher third, following Rehrl’s hill-record 139.5 m jump in Predazzo.
Germany edges Austria in thrilling Mixed Team race
September 20, 2025 / FIS
Germany won the Nordic Combined Mixed Team event in Ziano di Fiemme, overtaking Austria I in a dramatic final sprint to win by 1.7 seconds. Austria led after the HS109 jumping round, but Germany steadily reeled them in during the 5–2.5–2.5–5 km roller-ski race, with Johannes Rydzek outsprinting Stefan Rettenegger on the anchor leg. Norway I completed the podium after Einar Luraas Oftebro moved past Austria II late in the race.
Korhonen sprints to first Summer Grand Prix victory in Val di Fiemme
September 19, 2025 / FIS
Finland’s Minja Korhonen claimed her first Nordic Combined Summer Grand Prix win in Val di Fiemme, outsprinting Japan’s Yuna Kasai after starting virtually tied from the jumping round. Heta Hirvonen finished third, while Germany’s Nathalie Armbruster placed fourth to secure the overall Summer Grand Prix title ahead of Korhonen and Slovenia’s Ema Volavšek. Korhonen also earned the Best Jumper blue bib and Volavšek won the Best Skier Trophy.