Beijing 2022 - Nordic Combined

Taylor Fletcher competes in the ski jumping HS109 leg of the nordic combined during the 2019 Stora Enso FIS World Ski Championships on Feb. 28, 2019 in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo by Getty Images)

Combining the sports of ski jumping and cross-country skiing, Nordic combined is considered by purists to be the quintessential Nordic event. Competitors begin with a ski jumping competition that determines the starting order for a 10-kilometer cross-country race. The first skier to cross the finish line wins.


Nordic combined in some form has been part of every Olympic Winter Games since the first one in 1924. Since 2010, it has included three events: men’s normal hill / 10-kilometer, men’s large hill / 10-kilometer, and men’s team relay


Norway has traditionally dominated the sport, with 13 golds and 31 total medals coming into Beijing. Germany ranks second with six golds and 16 total medals. Team USA has won four medals in the sport, with all four — including Billy Demong’s gold — coming at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.


Although the U.S. has since been unable to match that golden era, the team has enjoyed spurts of success in the years since, including a team bronze medal at the 2013 world championships. Taylor Fletcher, a 2022 Olympian, was part of that team.


This year’s Nordic combined competition will be held at the National Ski Jumping Centre and the National Cross-Country Centre in the Zhangjiakou venue cluster 110 miles northwest of Beijing.


Updated on January 28, 2022.