Germany beat Austria to Men’s Team gold after DSQ hits Norway hopes
Mar 07, 2025·Nordic Combined
Germany beat Austria in a tense Nordic Combined Men’s Team battle in Trondheim to win their first World Championship gold in the event since 2017 and end Norway’s domination as the hosts had to settle for bronze after a disqualification in the ski jumping.
Norway appeared to be on course for a fourth successive World gold when they earned a lead of 20 seconds from the HS138 hill to take into the 4x5km cross-country relay race.
But Joergen Graabak was disqualified for an irregular binding, a decision upheld by the jury despite a protest from Norway.
That cut 122.3 points from the hosts’ total and meant they started the cross-country a minute and 40 seconds behind Austria and Germany.
Even with their collective strength in the tracks, that proved too much of a deficit for the defending champions as the battle for gold became a two-way fight, with the lead exchanging hands several times across the four legs.
But Vinzenz Geiger (GER) eventually pulled clear of Fabio Obermeyr (AUT) on the final 5km leg to give Germany – including Julian Schmid, Johannes Rydzek and Wendelin Thannheimer - gold, having won silver at the last three Worlds and the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Johannes Lamparter, Martin Fritz, Franz-Josef Rehrl and Obermeyr took silver for Austria, 6.6 seconds back, with the Norwegian quartet of Simen Tiller, Graabak, Jens Luraas Oftebro and Jarl Magnus Riiber overcoming Finland to take bronze, 1:39.8 back.
While Riiber’s 14th World medal was his first bronze, after 10 golds and three silvers, it was also a 14th World Championship medal for Rydzek (GER) since 2011, and his seventh gold, while Geiger, Schmid and Thannheimer - making his championship debut – all collected their first World Championship golds.
“It is incredible, one of the best days ever, it is historic,” said Geiger. “I thought it would be a bit easier but Fabio (Obermeyr) did a great job, especially in the first loop.
“It was really hard to keep up with his pace but I know I am very fast at the end so I was confident I would get the gold. My focus was on the last lap, not the first, and I think it worked out.”
Austria and Germany duel for gold
Austria opted to put Lamparter, their fastest skier, on the first leg, but he couldn’t shake off Rydzek until the final kilometer before stretching clear to hand a 12.9-second lead to Rehrl.
Thannheimer, on the second leg for Germany, closed to just over 10 seconds after the first 2.5km loop before Rehrl rallied to maintain a 13-second advantage for Austria.
Behind them Ilkka Herola, Finland’s best skier, caught Akito Watabe (JPN) on the second loop, to move the Finns into bronze at the halfway stage, with Norway still 25 seconds off a medal after the first two legs.
Schmid halved Austria’s lead within the first 800m of the third leg as he chased down Fritz and was right in his tracks after the first loop of their personal duel (below).
Schmid bided his time before overtaking Fritz early in the second 2.5km and then powered away from the Austrian on the final climb to cruise into the Granåsen Arena and hand Geiger a 6.6-second advantage over Obermeyr for the final leg.
But, remarkably, Obermeyr swiftly caught up with Geiger – a six-time winner on the World Cup circuit this season – and then went in front as they completed the first loop.
But Geiger’s trademark strength in the final kilometer came through again as he made his move on the uphill section approaching the finish, opening a six-second gap which Obermeyr, 24th in this season's standings, couldn’t react to.
Behind the leading two, Oftebro, the best skier of the season, caught Japan’s Sora Yachi but couldn’t reel in Eero Hirvonen (FIN), who handed over to Otto Niittykoski with a 15-second lead over Norway - with Riiber on the final leg - in the battle for bronze.
Niittykoski stumbled as Riiber went past him but hung in doggedly to stick with the five-time overall World Cup champion before Riiber pulled away on the second loop to finish 20 seconds clear, with the Finns’ medal drought in the event since 2007, when they won gold, continuing.
With no prospect of catching Germany and Austria, Riiber was able to conserve his energy for Saturday’s individual Gundersen on the large hill, his last major competition before retiring at the end of the season and the final Nordic Combined event of these World Championships.
"It wasn’t a day we hoped for," Riiber said. "If everything went OK, I think we would have that gold. It is very hard to swallow to not be able to fight for it, even though it was good to secure the third place."
Tiller and Rehrl shine on hill
Earlier on the HS138 hill, Akito Watabe (JPN), in his 10th and final World Championships, rolled back the years with a beautifully flighted 130.0m jump for 125.6 points.
But Tiller, chosen ahead of other contenders for Norway’s fourth spot, justified his selection with a superb 136.0m effort for 138.2 points, which proved the best tally across all four rounds.
Rydzek’s 131.0m for 127.0 points put Germany second with Obermeyr's 125.0m jump leaving Austria fourth after the first round of nine athletes.
But Rehrl, who turns 35 in a fortnight, showed his experience as he lifted Austria into second place with a brilliant 139.5m jump, the longest overall (below), to earn 137.7 points and close the gap on Norway, for whom Graabak could only manage 126.5m.
Thannheimer’s 129.0m jump kept Germany narrowly ahead of Japan, with a slightly off-balance landing costing Sora Yachi better marks for his 134.5m jump.
But Oftebro’s 132.5m jump for 130.3 points extended Norway’s lead to 10.1 points – equating to 10 seconds – after the third round over Austria following Fritz’s 130.0m, with Germany 12 seconds back after Geiger's 130.5m jump.
Yoshito Watabe's 116.7 points dropped Japan 26 seconds behind and when Ryota Yamamoto, so strong on the hill recently, could only manage 125.0m for 114.8 points, their medal chances looked slim heading to the cross-country.
With changing conditions making it more challenging for the final group of jumpers, Lamparter’s stylish 130.0m effort for 128.2 points maintained Austria’s two-second advantage over Germany, for whom Schmid scored 127.5 points from a 131.5m jump.
Despite not finding his absolute best timing, Riiber’s 134.5m effort still earned 138.1 points to give Norway a 20-second lead with 528.9 points to Austria’s 508.9 after the jumping, with Germany close behind on 506.7 points.
But Graabak’s subsequent disqualification meant bronze was the only realistic target for the hosts' quartet, who will be intent on finishing the championships with a golden glow on Saturday.
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