Nordic Combined Awards - the winners 2020!
Mar 23, 2020·Nordic Combined
The media and public voting for the best Nordic Combined athletes, rookies, moments and coaches of the year is over and the winners in each category have been determined.
As every year, a jury of nine international sports journalists have cast their votes, with one additional vote determined by a public voting, which ran for the last week.
And the winners are:
Last year’s winner are this year’s winners in the category Athlete of the Year. Jarl Magnus Riiber (NOR) won his second Athlete of the Year award in an unanimous vote by the jury and also received the public vote. Tara Geraghty-Moats (USA) won the award in the women’s category with 7 votes. Austria’s Lisa Hirner received 2 votes, while the public vote went to Jenny Nowak (GER).
Last year, he was nominated and had to concede defeat to Johannes Lamparter but this year, Jens Lurås Oftebro (NOR) was untouchable in the Rookie of the Year category. He received 8 votes plus the public vote, while Gael Blondeau (FRA) received one vote.
More Jarl Magnus Riiber also in the Moment of the Year category: The Norwegian’s “Super Sunday” in Trondheim, when he secured the overall, broke Hannu Manninen’s season win record and matched Bjarte Engen Vik as the most successful Norwegian Nordic Combined athlete, all in one day was recognised as the Moment of the Year: 6 votes plus the public vote gave Riiber the win. Vinzenz Geiger received one vote for becoming the first athlete to beat Riiber last season and Akito Watabe’s surprise victory in Lahti was the moment of the year for 2 journalists.
No surprise given the stellar performance of the Norwegian team: head coach Peder Sandell and his team (jumping coaches Tom Hilde and Stian Kvarstad) were chosen as Coaches of the Year by an unanimous jury vote and also received the public vote
A fitting occasion to present the winners with their awards will be determined and communicated later, as it of course depends on the further course of the Corona-crisis.
Congratulation to all the winners!
