Tag: nordic combined

Three Nordic combined powers raced together for the bulk of a 20-kilometer relay, with Norway’s Joergen Graabak continuing his breakout Games by holding out for gold. The USA wasn’t able to mount a challenge, rallying to finish sixth.

Date: 20-Feb

Sport: Nordic combined

Event: Team (four jumps determine start intervals for 4x5k cross-country relay)

Medalists: Norway, Germany, Austria

SportsMyriad projections: Germany, Norway, France

How U.S. fared: The USA took silver in this event in 2010, with its Golden Generation at its peak, and followed up with a third-place run at last year’s World Championships. But the team was not great on the large hill. Todd Lodwick was seventh in his group with 99.9 points. Taylor Fletcher also was seventh, continuing his struggles on the hill with 92.5. Bill Demong had a nice one at 108.0, also seventh in his group but keeping pace with the strong jumpers in his group. Bryan Fletcher got 97.2, ninth in the last group.

The team is full of solid cross-country skiers, but those jumps would give them a gap of 1 minute, 52 seconds behind the leaders.

Bryan Fletcher led off the cross-country relay and pulled the USA ahead of Russia into seventh place, but he lost five seconds to the leaders. Todd Lodwick, who sat out the cross-country phase of the individual races to rest his injured shoulder, lost nearly a minute and fell back to eighth.

The bright spot was Taylor Fletcher, who posted the fastest third leg of any of the competitors. He pulled back ahead of Italy into seventh.

Bill Demong, the only U.S. man to win Nordic combined gold, went hard in the final leg despite the great distance. He moved up into sixth and held off the Czech Republic.

What happened: Austria moved into the lead with the best jumps of the second and third rounds — Christoph Bieler and Mario Stecher. But a weaker fourth jump left them behind consistent Germany.

Norway had been back in the pack, but Haavard Klemetsen finished with the best jump of the day.

After the jumps, the time intervals were set: Germany first, Austria seven seconds back, Norway 0:25, France 0:35.

The fleet-footed Magnus Moan brought Norway back into the mix immediately, ailing normal hill champion Eric Frenzel held on for Germany, and the top three hit the first exchange within a second of each other.

That lead pack stayed within a second of each other through the second leg as well, and they put more distance on fourth-place France.

In the third leg, the leaders were still cozy with each other, at one point all standing up and looking like they were out for a nice stroll in the warm weather. They put the hammer down in the last kilometer, with Norway’s Magnus Krog trying to put some distance on the others. But the gap from first to third only grew to 1.7 seconds. France, though, was more than a minute back, far too much for Jason Lamy Chappuis to pull back.

The three contenders in the last leg — Joergen Graabak (Norway) was the large hill winner, Fabian Riessle (Germany) was the large hill bronze medalist, Mario Stecher (Austria) is a six-time Olympian. Through another four kilometers, no one attacked. Could Stecher keep up with the young guys on a final sprint?

Stecher started to make a move on the uphill but couldn’t get away, and the others left him on one of the last turns. Graabak was out front through the stadium, with Riessle on his tail. The German anchor picked the finish lane next to the Norwegian and flung himself at the line, but he was 0.3 seconds behind.

Full results

Is this Nordic combined or short-track? The second Nordic combined event of the Olympics came down to a pack finish, a wreck and some surprising medalists.

Date: 18-Feb

Sport: Nordic combined

Event: Large hill – one jump that determines start times for the 10k cross-country race

Medalists: Joergen Graabak (Norway), Magnus Moan (Norway), Fabian Riessle (Germany)

SportsMyriad projections: Eric Frenzel (Germany), Wilhelm Dinifl (Austria), Jason Lamy-Chappuis (France)

How U.S. fared: Defending champion Bill Demong hasn’t been in winning form over the past couple of years, and he needed a good jump to be a contender. He didn’t get it, going more than 20 meters behind the top guys to start 38th, 2:18 back.

All four U.S. athletes were set to start in a pack — Bryan Fletcher 27th (1:59 back), Todd Lodwick 30th (2:01 back), Taylor Fletcher 35th (2:13) and Demong.

Lodwick, as he did in the normal hill event, opted not to start the cross-country phase. And Taylor Fletcher, as he did in the normal hill, started climbing through the field. He finished 20th, two ahead of brother Bryan. Demong was 31st.

What happened: Germany’s Eric Frenzel was supposedly sick. He didn’t seem sick on his jump, taking the lead. Behind him: Norway’s Haavard Klemetsen (8 seconds back), Austria’s Bernhard Gruber (22), Japan’s Akito Watabe (33), Jason Lamy-Chappuis of Montana via France (33), Norway’s Joergen Graabak (42) and the ever-dangerous Magnus Moan of Norway (45). Lurking: Germany’s Bjorn Kircheisen (1:03).

Grbuer quickly closed the gap, within one second at the 1.5k mark. Lamy-Chappuis and Moan also were surging. After one lap around the 2.5k course, it was a seven-man pack with the top seven from the ski jumping. By 4k, it was 10, with Kircheisen and fellow Germans Fabian Riessle and Johannes Rydzek joining the fun.

That pack stayed together without incident through 7.5k, when Watabe slipped. The silver medalist in the normal hill scrambled to get back in the race.

Frenzel finally fell off the pace on the last lap, surely ailing a little. Kircheisen took out fast on that climb and led at 9k, but the Norwegians shot past him. With five racers attacking the same curve in the stadium, Rydzek tumbled.

Norwegians Graabak and Moan dueled for gold, with Graabak taking it by 0.6 seconds. Then the two Germans, with Riessle 1.6 seconds back and Kircheisen 2.1. The other contenders trickled in 10 seconds later.

Graabak had never won a World Cup event. Riessle matched his best-ever World Cup finish.

The team event is yet to come, and don’t bet against Norway and Germany for the podium.

Full results

Soft snow, hard race. Eric Frenzel had the best jump and seemed to be toying with the field through much of the cross-country race, finally turning on the turbo for the last 200 meters for the win.

Date: 12-Feb

Sport: Nordic combined

Event: Men’s normal hill (one jump from normal hill, 10k cross-country race)

Medalists: Eric Frenzel (Germany), Akito Watabe (Japan), Magnus Krog (Norway)

SportsMyriad projections: Jason Lamy Chappuis (France), Eric Frenzel (Germany), Mikko Kokslien (Norway)

How U.S. fared: Bill Demong and Todd Lodwick were part of a big medal breakthrough in 2010. They’re back but a bit older and banged up, along with the younger Bryan and Taylor Fletcher. The aim here is a team medal.

Lodwick, the 37-year-old six-time Olympian, had a decent jump. Demong’s was slightly better. Bryan Fletcher, who has a World Cup win, is better at skiing but was still disappointed in his jump. Taylor Fletcher, who has a World Cup podium, also is better at skiing but took himself completely out of the picture with his jump, placing last by a wide margin.

Athletes’ jumps determine when they start the cross-country race. Demong would start 1:33 back, followed quickly by Lodwick (1:34). Bryan Fletcher would start 1:44 back. Taylor Fletcher was all alone, 2:34 back.

Lodwick opted not to race the cross-country stage. Demong pulled across in 24th, 1:49 back. B-Fletcher was a few seconds later in 26th. T-Fletcher passed a lot of people on the course and and placed 33rd, which bodes well for his leg in the all-important team event to come.

What happened: The first jumper, young Russian Evgeny Klimov, sat in first place through 44 jumpers. The contenders, including defending champion Jason Lamy Chappuis, all clustered behind him.

Then came the second-to-last jumped, Japan’s Akito Watabe, who flew past everyone. Literally. He flew 100.5 meters. And then the favorite, Germany’s Eric Frenzel, went 2.5 meters better — a magnificent 103 meters. That gave Frenzel a six-second lead over Watabe and a 30-second lead on the other contenders heading into the race.

The balmy weather, comfortably over 50 degrees (or 10 degrees, for those who prefer Celsius) softened the snow on the race course.

Frenzel let Watabe join him in a two-man lead group. But they weren’t able to put much time on the chase group. Norway’s magnificently named Magnus Moan, who started 48 seconds back, caught up with the contenders and led the chasers — 17 of them, including the major players, to within 20 seconds at the halfway mark.

By 6.5k, the chase group was within 13 seconds, but it was much smaller. Defending champion Jason Lamy Chappuis had fallen off the pace.

But Frenzel and Watabe turned up the pace. Through 9k, the gap was still 12.5 seconds. And still eight or nine skiers were aiming for at least bronze.

Frenzel waited patiently to make his move until the two leaders reached the stadium. Then he blew away from Watabe, leaving time to celebrate as he crossed the finish line. Watabe was still comfortably in silver, 4.2 seconds back. Norway’s Magnus Krog, who started more than a minute back, sprinted to bronze (8.1 seconds back) ahead of Italian contender Alessandro Pittin, who hung his head in that most painful of spots — fourth place, 1.2 seconds behind Krog. Moan was fifth, and the rest of the field trickled in from there.

Full results