TESERO, Italy (AP) — Norway swept the Nordic combined events at the Milan Cortina Winter Games with a victory in the team sprint Thursday in what could be the final time the sport is featured in the Olympics.
Finland won silver and Austria captured the bronze on a day when a snowstorm made for tough travel in the two-man 15-kilometer cross-country ski relay.
The event dates to the original Olympics in 1924 and opens with a ski jump that determines the starting order for the cross-country ski race. The rest of the field starts behind the leader according to the ranking from their jump. The first to cross the line is the winner.
The hybrid contest, which is the only winter sport without women, faces elimination from the International Olympic Committee because it draws a small audience and is dominated by Norway, Austria, Germany and Japan. The IOC is due to make its decision later this year.
The podium at all three events that ended in the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium has featured the same three countries.
Jens Luraas Oftebro of Norway, who ran away with gold in the normal and large hill individual events, teamed up with Andreas Skoglund to capture a third medal for the country that invented the sport.
Ilkka Herola and Eero Hirvonen of Finland, who each took a bronze in the first two events, won their first silver medals.
Johannes Lamparter of Austria, who won silver medals in the individual events, shared the bronze with Stefan Rettenegger.
Germany had the best score after the ski jump and got a 13-second jump on Norway in the ski rae. Japan started 21 seconds back, Finland was 27 seconds behind and Austria had a 29-second deficit.
The U.S. team of Niklas Malacinski and Ben Loomis finished seventh.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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