Lamparter crowns Crystal Globe with superb Oslo win

Johannes Lamparter (AUT) crowned his second Viessmann FIS Nordic Combined overall World Cup title with his sixth win of the season in the concluding Gundersen to claim his first King’s Cup in Oslo.

The 24-year-old Austrian started the cross-country with a 48-second lead over Jens Luraas Oftebro (NOR) after a stunning jump of 136.0-meters on the Holmenkollbakken, 5.5m further than his main rival, whose 130.5m effort was still one of his best of the season.

Oftebro nibbled away at Lamparter's lead in the tracks, taking six seconds out of his deficit over the first 2.5km loop and another nine seconds by the halfway mark.

The Norwegian cut that to 25.3 seconds after the third loop, with his brother Einar Luraas Oftebro (NOR) in a fight for the final podium place with Ilkka Herola (FIN), Thomas Rettenegger (AUT) and Espen Andersen (NOR), the latter one of several veterans competing in their final World Cup competition.

But even Oftebro, the triple Olympic Winter Games gold medallist from Milano Cortina and the best skier in the field, couldn’t summon one last late surge in a remarkable season as he settled for second place, 31.9 seconds behind Lamparter.

Brother Einar Luraas Oftebro out-manoeuvred Herola in the closing stages to take third place and ensure he and Jens became the first siblings to both finish in the top three in the overall standings.

More to follow.

There was also a best-ever finish for Otto Nittykoski (FIN), who followed up his sixth place in Lahti last week by pipping Andersen in a sprint for fifth.

The 25-year-old flew 129.5m, the third-longest jump of the day, to finish third on the Large Hill with 122.6 points and delivered a composed display in the tracks.

Legends bid emotional farewell

Like 32-year-old Norwegian Andersen, who won Team gold and silver Olympic medals in 2022 and 2018 and the same in World Championships in 2023 and 2021, Johannes Rydzek (GER) was also saying farewell in Oslo.

The 34-year-old, a four-time Olympic medallist including double gold in 2018 and with seven golds among his 14 World Championship medals, finished eighth, his 13^th top-10 finish of a hugely consistent final campaign which included three podiums.

“It was such a pleasure to be in this World Cup for the last 18 years,” said Rydzek (above), who earned 18 individual wins among his 47 podiums overall.

“I feel so fulfilled. There have been a lot highlights and I want to thank everyone - all the staff and trainers who are not always in the spotlight. Without them it wouldn’t have been possible. I will stay in the Nordic Combined family in one way or another.”

Former overall champion Akito Watabe (JPN, below, with Andersen), 37, also bowed out after his 303^rd World Cup start, 20 years after his debut, as did Alessandro Pittin (ITA), the 36-year-old who won World silver in 2015 and Olympic bronze in 2010.

Click here for full results of Sunday's Gundersen in Oslo.