Women’s World Cup crystal globe awarded in Oberstdorf

Since the Viessmann FIS World Cup season of the Nordic Combined women has unfortunately cut short due to Covid-19 related cancellations, the crystal globe and medals for the Top 3 athletes Tara Geraghty-Moats (USA), Gyda Westvold Hansen (NOR) and Anju Nakamura (JPN) have been handed out at the occasion of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf.

Geraghty-Moats, Westvold Hansen and Nakamura received their medals in the Audi Arena in Oberstdorf in conjunction with the medal ceremony for the first-ever Women’s Nordic Combined event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.

Even though none of the five planned World Cup events of the winter in Lillehammer (NOR), Otepää (EST) and Schonach (GER) could take place due to Covid-19 related reasons, the Austrian Ski Association supported the sport by hosting one replacement competition in Ramsau am Dachstein in December.

All three podium athletes from this event have extensive track records of excellence in Nordic Combined: Tara Geraghty-Moats is the Continental Cup overall winner 2018/19 and 2019/20 and has 21 individual wins on the highest levels of Women’s Nordic Combined to her name. Gyda Westvold Hansen entered history books on Saturday as the first-ever female Nordic Combined World Champion and is also the reigning FIS Junior World Champion, after winning two silver medals in 2019 and 2020. Anju Nakamura is the FIS Junior World Championship bronze medallist from 2019 and has five Continental Cup podiums to her name.

“FIS and the Nordic Family are very proud of the historical day here in Oberstdorf. We started with a FIS Youth Cup in 2014, and on Saturday the Nordic Combined women presented themselves in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with a fantastic event”, Race Director Lasse Ottesen said.

“The development that we have seen the last seasons has been great. We see that there is a growing interest for Women’s Nordic Combined and the National Ski Federations around the world are doing a great job. Now, the next step will be to establish a stable Word Cup calendar for the coming year. The Mixed Team is already included on the WSC 2023 programme, so our women will have two medal chances in two years. Our main goal is now to have the Nordic Combined women implemented in the Olympic programme from 2026 onwards.”