Nordic combined

Combined on large hill – LIVE from 9.30 am

Johannes Lamparter

(Bild: AP/Matthias Schrader)

Combined skier Johannes Lamparter finished the Nordic World Championships in Trondheim without the individual medal he was aiming for. One day after winning team silver, the 23-year-old Tyrolean was unable to finish higher than a disappointing seventh place in the Gundersen king's class on Saturday. Dominator Jarl Magnus Riiber bid farewell to the big stage with a superior victory, the 27-year-old Norwegian won his eleventh World Championship gold medal in his home country.

Silver went to Riiber's compatriot Jörgen Graabak, who beat Germany's Vinzenz Geiger in the final sprint of the 10 km cross-country race. Lamparter (+1:29.1 min.) was no longer able to keep up with the strongest cross-country skiers in the field in the finish, and the visibly dejected former world champion was 18 seconds short of the medal. "I'm very empty and very disappointed. I was actually really looking forward to the day," said Lamparter with tears in his eyes. "It's bitter, it just hurts."

He will now round off the day with team-mate Fabio Obermeyr and catch up on the medal celebrations with the team. "I'm going to open a beer with Obi now. Maybe we'll get a pizza and have a good time. Maybe I'll just have one just like that." Christoph Bieler emphasized that Lamparter could not be blamed for anything. "He tried right to the end," said the ÖSV head coach, who identified room for improvement in cross-country skiing technique in deep conditions.

ÖSV combined athletes beaten
The ambitious Lamparter is thus traveling home with a total of two medals after mixed team bronze. In the compact competition, he had narrowly missed out in fifth place in the final sprint. After poor jumps on the large hill, the other ÖSV combined athletes did not take part in the battle for precious metal on Saturday. Obermeyr finished twelfth after another strong run, Stefan Rettenegger was 16th just ahead of Franz-Josef Rehrl.

Riiber, who will retire after the end of the season due to chronic intestinal disease Crohn's disease, won his third World Championship title in Trondheim after compact gold and mixed team gold. "I couldn't have wished for a better end to my career, I've sacrificed a lot for this," said Riiber. A disqualification in team jumping by his colleague Graabak spoiled Riiber's perfect World Championships, but the day before he had won his first bronze medal at major events. Riiber will end his sporting career with eleven World Championship titles, but "only" one Olympic medal with team silver in 2018.

Riiber jumped away from everyone
Riiber had once again jumped away from the competition on the large hill and went onto the cross-country ski run with a cushion of more than a minute. Lamparter was 1:36 minutes behind and formed a tandem with German Julian Schmid. The duo tried to keep the stronger cross-country skiers with Graabak, Ilkka Herola, Geiger and Jens Lurås Oftebro at bay for as long as possible. However, they did not succeed and a six-way battle for two medals was already on the cards four kilometers before the finish line.

Riiber, in the lead, enjoyed the atmosphere in front of tens of thousands of fans at the Granåsen Skisenter and crossed the finish line with the Norwegian flag. Meanwhile, Geiger, Graabak and Oftebro pulled away decisively on the final climb. Lamparter, like Schmid, was unable to keep up.