Jørgen Graabak wins two golds at Norwegian nationals

The seasons 2016/17 finished on a high note for reigning Olympic Champion Jørgen Graabak. One Individual Gundersen event (5 km) and a Team Sprint were on schedule on the last weekend for the Norwegian Nordic Combined elite in Trondheim. Graabak stood on top of the podium twice, one time in the Individual and one time together with Sør-Trøndelag teammate Magnus Moan.

In the Individual Gundersen, Graabak came from a second intermediate place after the jumping event to take the victory ahead of the season’s shooting star Espen Andersen. Veteran Håvard Klemetsen finished the jumping part in the first place but had to be content with the third place after the cross-country race.

Graabak had the fastest skiing time of 14:00 for the 5 km. Andersen impressed with the second fastest time and left Simen Tiller and Håvard Klemetsen behind him on the track after having started from rank four with a time disadvantage of 14 seconds. In the end, 16 seconds separated Andersen from Graabak, who finished the season with the Kongepokal for the first time. Klemetsen finished 38 seconds after Graabak. Youngster Tiller ended up on the fourth rank, Espen Bhjørnstad was fifth, Jan Schmid finished sixth.

In the Team Sprint on the following day, Moan and Graabak went out on the two times 7.5 km from the first position already, narrowly ahead of the duo of Håvard Klemetsen and Jørgen Oliver Strøm, who started for Finnmark. Einar Lurås Oftebro and Espen Andersen were third with +52 seconds, closely tailed by Espen Bjørnstad and Jan Schmid for Sør-Trøndelag II.

In the end, it was a clear one minute and 42 seconds that separated Moan and Graabak from Bjørnstad and Schmid at the finish line. Espen Andersen and Einar Lurås Oftebro (Team Akershus) came in third, +1:44 after Graabak/Moan.