PREDAZZO, Italy, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Nordic combined closed on a bittersweet note at the Winter Games, with these Olympics possibly the sport's last and women glaringly missing from competition.
With the International Olympic Committee considering axing the sport in the future, competitors and winter sports officials insisted that Milano-Cortina 2026 had in fact demonstrated the growing reach of the hybrid discipline of ski jumping and skiing.
But the podiums in the three competitions on its programme may not help their case with three traditionally dominant nations dividing up the medals. Norway won all the golds, while Finland and Austria traded the silvers and bronzes.
Noting that the first two Nordic combined events were sold out and 90 percent of tickets were sold for the final competition, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation's (FIS) Nordic combined director Lasse Ottesen said IOC demands for wider participation and coverage were more than fulfilled.
The federation is lobbying for the sport's Olympics future ahead of the IOC's summer meetings. There is also a push to overturn the exclusion of women due to lack of spectator interest.
“There’s no reason for them to be excluded from 2030, and it’s been awesome to see their progress and how the sport has progressed in the last four or five years," said U.S. Nordic combined athlete Ben Loomis.
'MAKE OLYMPICS GENDER EQUAL'
Annika Malacinski, sister of U.S. Nordic combined athlete Niklas Malacinski, has advocated strongly for women’s inclusion in the sport. She attended the events and held a sign that read: “MAKE OLYMPICS GENDER EQUAL.”
IOC approval was not the only challenge.
Two of the three races were contested in difficult snow conditions, the first due to warm weather creating slush and the second during a storm that caused snow to pile up on the tracks.
“For my first Games, these have been a very interesting experience as far as conditions go,” said Niklas Malacinski. “You can’t really control it, but I’m glad to have Games like this under my belt."
In the opening event, Norway’s Jens Luraas Oftebro underlined his superiority in the normal hill competition, reeling in a trio of early starters with a determined charge.
He continued his dominance with a late surge in the men’s large hill event before claiming team sprint gold alongside Andreas Skoglund in a dramatic finish against Finland, decided by a single ski length in slushy and chaotic conditions.
With that victory, Oftebro not only underlined his dominance but may also have written himself into history as the last Olympic champion in a sport that has been part of the Winter Games programme since 1924.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund and Liz Hampton in Predazzo, Italy; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
