Alexa Brabec “aiming for” World Championship medal

At just 21 years old, Alexa Brabec has already established herself among the leading athletes in women’s Nordic Combined. The Steamboat Springs, Colorado native finished second in the Overall World Cup in 2025/26 and celebrated her first World Cup victory in Seefeld (AUT) in January.

After the best season of her career so far, the American is heading into the World Championship winter with even bigger ambitions. Ahead of the new season, Brabec reflects on her breakthrough year, her development as an athlete and what she is aiming for next.

Last season was a huge step forward for you. You went from ninth in the Overall World Cup to second, earned your first World Cup victory and became one of the most consistent athletes in the field. What changed that allowed you to make that step?

I don't think it was a big change that allowed me to make that step, but rather continuing to build on what I had been working on in the previous seasons. Especially on the jumping side, I had seen some good progress but was lacking consistency, so I think just trying to build that consistency through having a good picture and plan for technique on the hill helped me be able to show better jumps in competition.

Your first World Cup victory in Seefeld came after several podiums and top-four finishes earlier in the season. Was finally standing on top of the podium a breakthrough mentally as well, and has it changed the way you approach races now?

It was amazing to get that first win. A small part of me knew that with a good jump and good race it would be possible, but that isn't as easy as it sounds. So, to actually do that and see the result was so great and helped solidify for myself that I could be fighting for the win.

At the last World Championships in Trondheim you finished fourth in the Mass Start, a result you later said you were very proud of. Going into Falun now as the World Cup runner-up, does a World Championship medal feel like a realistic goal?

Yes, I would say that a World Championship medal has become a more realistic goal and something that I am aiming for this year.

Falun will be historic for women’s Nordic Combined, with four medal events including the first women’s Large Hill competition at a World Championship. Is there one of the Falun events that you feel could suit you particularly well?

I am definitely excited for the events at Falun. I am looking forward to the debut of the Large Hill competition as I really like jumping on the bigger hills, although I think the Gundersen format on the Normal Hill might suit me a little better overall. I am also excited for the Women’s Team Sprint. I think we have a strong US women's team right now, and I am excited to see what we can do together.

You moved to Lillehammer after high school to train with the Norwegian team. At first, you described that experience as learning what it takes to be a top athlete, but now you are regularly fighting those same teammates for podiums and victories. Has that relationship changed as you have become one of their biggest competitors?

I think we have all gotten closer over the years, which makes it really fun to be a part of the team. We are also a very strong team, and I think we all push each other. Now I think I get to push the other girls rather than just chasing behind, but other than that I don't think the relationships have changed that much. Even though we may be competing against each other on the hill and race course, when we are hanging out anywhere else, it is as friends and teammates.

Away from Nordic Combined, you enjoy climbing and spending time outdoors. Is there anything about it, physically or mentally, that you can take back into ski jumping or cross-country skiing?

I really like going camping in the desert and canyoneering because it is such a complete and total break from skiing and pretty much everything. I am usually camping in the middle of nowhere with no cell service, so the only thing to do is run canyons and hang out with friends, which is such an important mental break from Nordic Combined for me and helps me have the energy to be more locked in when I am training. And I guess an added bonus is that it is also a decent way to get a lot of easy distance hours.