One of the "old men" of winter sports, Nordic combined is often overlooked by American Olympic audiences - yet embraced in Europe and the Far East.
Nordic combined is sometimes called "the decathlon of skiing", blending two ancient ski sports - jumping and cross country - into one competition. Elite Nordic combined athletes develop the explosiveness and strength needed in jumping and the endurance valued in cross country sprints.
The jumping section of Olympic competition is held first. The cross country race start order is then positioned from the top jumpers to the bottom. The first skier to finish the 7.5-kilometer "sprint" wins the Nordic combined competition.
Teams competitions are also staged using a similar format.
OLYMPIC OVERVIEW
Perhaps it's no surprise that a sport dubbed "Nordic combined" would be ruled, largely, by Norsemen.
Scandinavians have enjoyed remarkable success in the Olympics, particularly the Norwegians in the first half of the 20th Century.
The medal stand belonged entirely to Norway in the first four Olympics. Finland, Germany and Japan, in recent years, have hustled to keep pace, enjoying success in recent Games.
The United States has placed a few competitors in the top six but has been kept off the medals podium entirely. That could change in 2002 - Colorado native Todd Lodwick is counted among the sport's elite and U.S. national champ Bill Demong is making a name for himself in the nordic combined world stage.
EVENT DESCRIPTIONS
The world's top nordic combiners will vie for medals in three competitions during the 2002 Games: a traditional nordic combined competition, a nordic combined "sprint" event and the team nordic combined competition.
The traditional nordic combined event opens with a ski jumping competition scored under regular ski jumping rules. The second half of the competition involves a 15-kilometer cross-country race in which the winner of the ski jumping competition starts first. The rest of the field follows a staggered start, based on ski jumping scores.
The nordic combined "sprint," a new event added to the Salt Lake Games, involves one jump off the K120 ski jump followed by a 7.5-kilometer race.
The cross country phase of the nordic combined team event also is conducted with a staggered start decided by each nation's performance in the jumping phase. However, after each start, the event becomes a relay — each skier competes a 5-kilometer lap and tags a teammate to begin the next lap. The first individual or team to cross the finish line is the winner.
The jumping portion of the nordic combined events for the 2002 Games will take place at the Utah Olympic Park. The cross country phase will be staged at Soldier Hollow.
