Coming up: First Nordic Combined event in Beijing 2022
Feb 07, 2022·Nordic Combined
The Olympic Winter Games were officially opened last Friday in Beijing (CHN).
After several official training sessions on the NH HS 106 and in the Cross-Country stadium in Zhangjiakou, the first Nordic Combined competition is scheduled for Wednesday, February 9th.
55 male athletes from 18 nations are nominated for the Games, although the starting field was already reduced due to a few positive Covid-19 cases in the teams of Estonia, Norway, Germany and Italy.
Kristjan Ilves was the first one to test positive for the corona virus last week in the Olympic village, followed by bad news from team Norway a day later. Top favorite Jarl Magnus Riiber got infected and, like Ilves, relocated to a quarantine hotel.
With Eric Frenzel and Terence Weber Germany also lost two of its most successful athletes this season after positive testing. They have been isolated as well and are, like Riiber and Ilves, hoping for two negative results in order to leave the quarantine hotel on time for the large hill events next week.
Samuel Costa from Italy did not travel to China at all, after a positive test before his depature.
Due to their expected absence at the normal hill Individual competition on Wednesday, a total of four athletes will be missing from the current World Cup top 7.
Therefore, overall World Cup leader Johannes Lamparter from Austria, Pyeongchangs team gold medalist Vinzenz Geiger and TRIPLE champion Joergen Graabak from Norway are now the favorites for the podium.
Also Japan's Akito Watabe, competing in his 5th Olympic Winter Games, will be in contention for a medal after achieving his best results with silver at the normal hill events in Sochi 2014 and Pyeongchang 2018.
The first competition will take place on Wednesday at 4:00 pm local time at the HS106 in the impressive National Ski Jumping Centre and at 7:00 pm at the National Cross-Country Skiing Centre in Zhangjiakou, 200 km north of the Chinese capital Beijing.
