This past weekend in Oslo, the legendary Holmenkollen jump became the site of a major milestone for women’s Nordic Combined: the first-ever Women’s Large Hill competition at the World Cup level. This event marked a crucial step forward in the fight for gender equality in the sport, giving female athletes the opportunity to compete on the large hill—something their male counterparts have done for years. While this was a moment to celebrate, there is still work to be done to ensure continued progress for women’s Nordic Combined, especially as the women’s World Cup season concludes earlier than the men’s, highlighting the ongoing disparities in competition opportunities.
Representing the U.S. in this historic event, Alexa Brabec and Annika Malacinski delivered strong performances. In Saturday’s Women’s Gundersen Large Hill HS134/5km, Brabec finished 18th and Malacinski 21st. The duo stepped it up on Sunday in the Compact event, with Brabec skiing into an impressive 7th place and Malacinski finishing 16th.
Johnstone Earns First World Cup Points; Loomis Leads U.S. Men
The U.S. men’s team was also in action at Holmenkollen, putting together solid performances. Ben Loomis led the squad in Saturday’s Men’s Gundersen Large Hill HS134/10km, finishing 26th. Niklas Malacinski took 38th, Stephen Schumann 40th, and Henry Johnstone—competing in just his second World Cup—finished 47th.
Sunday’s Men’s Individual Compact event saw tight competition, with Loomis securing another 26th-place finish. Schumann placed 33rd, Johnstone 39th, earning his first-ever World Cup points, and Malacinski 40th, rounding out a weekend of valuable experience on one of the sport’s most iconic stages.
Strong U.S. Performances in Lahti Continental Cup
Meanwhile, in Finland, U.S. athletes made their presence known at the Lahti Continental Cup. Carter Brubaker started the weekend strong with a 16th-place finish in the Men’s Individual Compact Large Hill HS130/7.5km. Erik Lynch followed with an impressive 12th-place result in the Men’s Individual Gundersen Large Hill HS130/10km.
Brubaker and Lynch then teamed up for the Men’s Team Sprint HS130/2x7.5km event, finishing 5th out of 22 teams. On Sunday, Gunnar Gilbertson and Ronen Woods wrapped up the weekend with their best performances of the competition, placing 36th and 50th, respectively, in the Men’s Individual Gundersen Large Hill HS130/10km.
One More Weekend to Go
With the women’s World Cup season now complete, only one more weekend remains for the men’s circuit. The final stop will be in Lahti, Finland, where the U.S. team will look to close out the season on a high note. Stay tuned for updates as the season finale unfolds!