One of the more unique events at the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG), Gangwon 2024 is the Nordic combined.
The sport has featured at the Winter Olympic Games since 1924 and combines the balance and timing of ski jumping with the endurance and strength from cross-country skiing.
Competitions at the Youth Olympics in the Republic of Korea will take place at the Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre and at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre.
From 29 to 31 January, 64 young athletes (32 men and 32 women) will be hoping to earn a medal in the Nordic combined event.
Below you will find the key things to know about the sport, athletes to look out for, and how to watch replays and highlights of the action on Olympics.com and the official Olympics app.
Who are the Nordic combined athletes to watch at Gangwon 2024?
The Nordic countries are, as the name of the sport implies, historically some of the most successful nations in the sport.
Norway have won 15 Winter Olympic gold medals, and they are lining up with some strong medal contenders at the Gangwon 2024 YOG.
In the women’s competition, 16-year-old Ingrid Laate is one to look out for. The Norwegian has already debuted in the senior World Cup, where she recorded a top 15 result last year.
Finland will hope that Minja Korhonen can continue her impressive development at these Youth Winter Olympic Games. At 16, she has already finished on the podium in the World Cup, which she did in Ramsau, Austria last month.
As for the men, Norway’s Erik Leiraamo will be one to keep an eye on. He won two Youth Cup competitions in Czechia in 2022.
Manuel Senoner of Italy, who took silver in the team event at the 2023 Winter European Olympic Festival, is tipped for a medal, and he finished two places ahead of Leiraamo, when they both competed at the Continental Cup in Trondheim earlier in January.
Czechia’s Lukas Dolezal also deserves to be mentioned among the expected medal favourites. At last year’s Winter European Olympic Festival, he clinched gold in the individual event.
Nordic combined format at Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympics
At Gangwon 2024, 32 men and 32 women feature in the competitions.
On 29 January, the day of the individual events, athletes will begin with ski jumping (normal hill) in the morning, followed by cross-country skiing in the afternoon. The men will do the cross-country race on a 6km course, while the women will do a 4km race.
The start order in the cross-country race is based on the rankings from the ski jump. The ski jumping points are converted into time penalties, allowing for the cross-country to be competed as a pursit race, with the first across the finish line winning gold. This way of competition is also known as the Gundersen method.
In the mixed team event, the score from the jumps of four athletes in each team decides which team will start first in the cross-country part, where a quartet take part in a relay race (4x3.3km).
Nordic combined venue location and dates at Gangwon 2024
All the Nordic combined competitions at Gangwon 2024 will take place at the Alpensia Ski Jumping Centre and Alpensia Biathlon Centre, venues that were also used at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.
The competition begins on 29 January with the individual event and ends on 31 January with the mixed team event.
Full Nordic combined schedule at Gangwon 2024
All times are Korea Standard Time (UTC/GMT +9 hours) and are subject to change.
Monday 29 January 2024
- 11:00-13:15 - Women’s and men’s individual normall hill
- 15:00-16:30 - Women’s 4km individual, men’s 6km individual
Wednesday 31 January 2024
- 11:00-16:30 - Mixed team normal hill/4x3.3km cross-country
How to watch Nordic combined competition at Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games
The Nordic combined action at Gangwon 2024 will be available on Olympics.com, as well as on the official Olympics app for mobile devices.
You can watch full replays on demand on Olympics.com and catch highlights across the official Olympics social media accounts.