Pre-Olympics, Korean style

In the middle of a packed season 2016/17, it is not too early to direct the attention towards the next Olympic mega event coming up on the Nordic Combined calendar. In Korea, there will be three new chances to enter ones names into the history books of the discipline and to experience the unique Olympic spirit in 2018. On the upcoming weekend, a first glimpse of how the next Winter Olympics will look like can be seen: the Olympic test events in PyeongChang, Korea are on schedule.

Taking place on the same sporting facilities, the HS 140 large hill and the blue 2.5 km cross-country track, which will host the Olympic competitions next winter, 200 World Cup points are up for grabs in two Individual Gundersen events and first experiences with Nordic Combined, Korean style can be made.

A home World Cup for Korean athlete Je-Un Park, the weekend will also serve as an important last big test for all involved venue management staff who will strive to organise most services on a level similar to the Olympic Games. On all levels of the organising committee, experienced experts from the two disciplines are were hired to pass on the knowledge to the Korean hosts and guarantee a smooth experience. Since the Nordic Combined Continental Cup visited last year, the ski jumping venue has undergone a nearly complete list of homologation upgrades, followed by an inspection in August 2016. Full certification for the ski jumping and cross-country venues will be issued in 2017.

With those excellent preparatory measures in place, the teams can fully concentrate on the sporting performance. How will the next round in the exciting fight Frenzel vs. Rydzek look like. Can teammate Fabian Rießle return to the fight for the top position or might another nation finally strike and win one of the coveted Individual Gundersen events?

The program (local times = CET + 9 hours)    
Friday, 04.02.2017

16:00: Official Training HS 140    
18.00: Provisional Competition Round HS140
20:30: Official Cross-Country Training

Saturday, 05.02.2017

17:00: Trial Round HS 140    
18:00: INDIVIDUAL GUNDERSEN Competition Round HS 140
20:30: INDIVIDUAL GUNDERSEN 10 km cross-country race

Sunday, 06.02.2017

17:00: Trial Round HS 140    
18:00: INDIVIDUAL GUNDERSEN Competition Round HS 140
20:30: INDIVIDUAL GUNDERSEN 10 km cross-country race
Subject to change!

Quick Facts:
HILL

Alpensia Jumping Park
Large Hill
HS 140

TRACK

Blue Track
2,5 km free-technique loop
Total climb: 99 metres
Maximum climb: 25 metres
Height Difference: 27 metres

LAST YEAR’S PODIUM (COC Events)
IG I: 1. Harald Lemmerer (AUT), 2. Franz-Josef Rehrl (AUT), 3. Marco Pichlmayer (AUT).
IG II: 1. Tobias Simon (GER), 2. Marco Pichlmayer (AUT), 3. Terence Weber (GER)