Hagen breaks wins record to crown dominant overall title

Norwegian star Ida Marie Hagen set a new record of individual wins in a single FIS Nordic Combined Women’s World Cup season with an 11^th victory in the 14^th and final event of the winter on home snow in Oslo.

The 25-year-old, already crowned overall champion for a second time, set the platform for her 28^th win overall with a superb 126.0-meter jump on the HS134 Large Hill to put herself second for the Gundersen cross-country race.

Despite a deficit of 1:07 on young compatriot Ingrid Laate (NOR), Hagen wiped out nearly 50 seconds inside the first 800m, caught Laate by the 1.6km mark and had established a 24.3-second lead by the end of the first 2.5km lap.

Hagen powered on during the second half of the race to win comfortably in 13:55, with Tara Geraghty-Moats (USA) holding off a strong sprint from Minja Korhonen (FIN) in a photo finish to take second.

Hagen surpassed the record of 10 wins in a season she shared with compatriot Gyda Westvold Hansen (from 2022-23) and also moved into joint-fourth in the all-time list of World Cup wins - for men and women - alongside Ronny Ackerman (GER).

Hagen also matched her feat from her previous Crystal Globe-winning season of 2023/24 by finishing on the podium in every individual World Cup competition. 

“It means so much," she said. "Before my home competition I always have more emotions.

More to follow.

Earlier, in misty conditions on the Holmenkollbakken, Ingrid Laate (NOR, above) - the best jumper of the season - took victory on the hill for the eighth time in 14 events this season.

The 18-year-old glided serenely through the air out to 132.0m, earning 123.8 points for a jump that was 6m further than anyone else.

“I’m really happy,” she said. “I was a bit nervous at the top but it ended up really good.”

Slovenian duo Tia Malovrh (117.5m) and Teja Pavec (117.0m) - who won Team Sprint gold together at last week’s World Junior Championships - set the early target with 91.6 points before Heta Hirvonen (FIN) improved on that with an 118.0m effort for 99.0 points.

Once Laate had set a huge target for the rest, Lisa Hirner (AUT) - 100.8 points - and Korhonen (102.5) both landed 120.0m jumps to put themselves 1:32 and 1:25 back.

But the two leading women of the season ensured another fight in the tracks, with Brabec landing a 124.0m jump for 106.0 points, a deficit of 1:11, before Hagen, going last, let out a scream of delight after her superb 126.0m jump (107.1 points) put her in pole position heading to the tracks.

Click here for full results of Sunday's Gundersen in Oslo.