Norway’s Jens Luraas Oftebro Wins Second Nordic Combined Gold

Norway’s Jens Luraas Oftebro secured his second Nordic combined gold medal at the Milan Cortina Winter Games on Tuesday, prevailing in the large hill competition followed by the 10-kilometer cross-country race.

Austria’s Johannes Lamparter earned his second silver medal of the Games, while Finland’s Ilkka Herola claimed bronze.

The Nordic combined format begins with a morning ski jump, where athletes receive distance and style points that are converted into time gaps for the cross-country race. The top jumper starts first, with the rest of the field setting off based on their ranking from the jump.

Japan’s Ryota Yamamoto carried an eight-second advantage over Lamparter into the ski race after leading the jump phase. Norway’s Andreas Skoglund started 16 seconds behind. Oftebro, who had already won the normal hill event, began 22 seconds back in fifth place, while Herola set off 32 seconds behind in seventh.

American Niklas Malacinski was the top U.S. finisher in 13th place. Yamamoto eventually finished 15th.

The podium closely resembled the results from the normal hill competition, with one change: Herola replaced fellow Finn Eero Hirvonen, who had taken bronze in that earlier event.

Nordic combined has been part of every Winter Olympics since 1924 and remains the only Winter Games sport that does not include women. The event is under review by the International Olympic Committee due to limited television audiences and dominance by a small number of countries. A decision on its future is expected later this year.


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