TESERO, Italy — Ski jumping and cross-country skiing through steady snowfall, Norway’s Andreas Skoglund and Jens Lurås Oftebro won what could be the final gold medal ever handed out in Nordic combined at the Winter Olympic Games, beating out Finland’s Ilkka Herola and Eero Hirvonen in a photo finish in the team sprint. After recovering from a crash in rough conditions, Austria’s Stefan Rettenegger and Johannes Lamparter secured bronze.
“It was a challenging one, but I’m really happy to have this end to the competition with a team gold,” Oftebro said. “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.”
Oftebro swept all three Nordic combined competitions; Lamparter won his third medal, with silver in the large and normal hill; and Hirvonen and Herola both won their second medals, with a bronze each earlier in the Games. With his sweep, Oftebro tied Norway’s Joergen Graabak for most Olympic golds in Nordic combined.
“It is nothing I would have expected to do this time. I was maybe hoping to do it in 2030 or 2034, but to do it now already is unexpected and a dream come true. It is difficult to describe but I’m really relieved and happy now.”
However, Oftebro might not have the chance to break that record, with the IOC considering cutting the discipline altogether from the Games.
In 2022, the IOC told the International Ski and Snowboard Federation that Nordic combined, which made its Olympic debut in the first-ever Winter Games, in Chamonix, France, in 1924, needed to grow its audience and the range of countries on the podium in order to be included in the 2030 Olympics.
Germany entered the cross-country skiing portion with a 13-second lead over the pack, followed by Japan eight seconds later, but the two got tangled in a crash that landed them in fifth and sixth, respectively. The tumble cleared the way for Norway and Finland to run away from the pack, going stride for stride through the finish. Italy made a surprise push for the top group, ending in fourth.
The IOC said Nordic combined had the lowest viewership of the 2022 Games, and pointed to the fact that just four countries — Norway, Germany, Japan and Austria — reached the podium in the past three Winter Olympics.
At the Milan Cortina Games, Finland added range to the podium with two bronze and one silver medal performance. Only two other countries joined them on the podium — Norway and Austria — though the competition was fierce, especially on Thursday, with Germany, Japan and Italy making runs for the top group.
“I think you saw how we competed and that it’s not just one nation … who always is in the front. I think we showcased that it’s always close,” Rettenegger said.
Still, only six athletes won medals across three Nordic combined competitions throughout the entire Games, including in the two-person team relay.
Nordic combined is also the only Winter Olympic event without a women’s competition; women only started competing on the World Cup in 2020, and since then, have spent years advocating for years for their inclusion in the Games. The IOC rejected their request in 2022, saying they needed to deepen the field and grow their audience, and now their fate is tied to the future of the men’s competition.
Meanwhile, the IOC is considering adding non-snow sports, such as cross-country running, to diversify the range of countries that compete in the Winter Games.
Sandra Spitz, sport and event director for the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, said before the games that this year’s Olympics is “decisive” for the future of the sport.
The IOC said it plans to make a decision about the future of Nordic combined sometime after the 2026 Games, using data from the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Athletes such as Rettenegger are holding out hope for 2030.
“It feels amazing because it’s my first medal,” he said, “but I’m positive that I won’t be one of the last ones.”