Olympics Nordic combined Large Hill/10 km medal results
By Zach Bigalke
Germany snatched all the medals available in the Large Hill/10 km Gundersen in Nordic combined. Here’s how the Germans swept the podium.
Historically, Norway has dominated Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics. But in an Olympic year where the Norwegians seemingly can’t be beat in most individual events on snow, the Scandinavians failed to collect a single medal in either of the individual Nordic combined events in Pyeongchang.
In the Normal Hill/10 km, Norway’s best finisher was Jarl Magnus Riiber, who lost by 4.4 seconds in the 10 km to Austria’s Lukas Klapfer. In the Large Hill/10 km, Riiber set himself up once again for disappointment.
Just as in the Normal Hill event, Riiber finished second in the ski jumping portion of the Nordic combined. His cross-country skiing betrayed him, however, as a trio of Germans overtook Riiber for the three podium positions.
MEDAL RESULT | Nordic combined Large Hill/10 km
Johannes Rydzek
Fabian Rießle
Eric Frenzel
In the ski jumping round, Germany set itself up to pounce in the 10 km race. Their trio of favorites slotted in at No. 4 through No. 6 in the standings following the Large Hill. Normal Hill/10 km gold medalist Eric Frenzel sat in fourth, 24 seconds off the pace set by Japan’s Akito Watabe.
Johannes Rydzek lurked right behind in fifth, with Fabian Rießle hovering in sixth. Once they traded out the jumping skis for the cross-country skis, the Germans quickly made up the deficit as they worked together to overtake the field.
This time Riiber would once again take fourth, finishing just off the podium. The deficit was even narrower this time, as Frenzel finished just two seconds ahead of the Norwegian. It was a close call, but Germany claimed the podium all for itself in the second of three Nordic combined events.
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