Thrilling combined thriller

LIVE: Rettenegger brothers just behind the leader

Great jubilation for Johannes Lamparter(Bild: Andreas Tröster)

Johannes Lamparter struck right away on Wednesday in the first of three Nordic combined events at the Olympic Games. The 24-year-old Tyrolean, who was sixth after the ski jumping, won the silver medal in the 10 km cross-country race, the sixth overall for the ÖOC team. Lamparter was only one second behind Olympic champion Jens Luraas Oftebro from Norway in the finish. Third place went to Finland's Eero Hirvonen, with Stefan Rettenegger coming fourth.

For Lamparter, the double world champion of 2021, it was the first Olympic medal of his career. The third Austrian at the start, Thomas Rettenegger, also finished in the top ten in ninth place. Austria now has two gold and four silver medals at the XXV Winter Games.

"Means so much to me"
"It means so much to me, it certainly wasn't the easiest conditions for me. In the last few days, I had serious doubts about whether I had a chance in such conditions," Lamparter admitted in an ORF TV interview. "I am overjoyed with the silver medal. Now I can tick off the Olympic medal and look forward to the large hill."

Johannes Lamparter (right)(Bild: AFP/ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT)

Lamparter stayed towards the back of the seven-man leading group in the first few rounds. It was a tactic that paid off. "I knew that everything would come down to the last round, so I kept that in mind during the first three rounds. Then I used up all my strength and saw lots of stars in the last round," revealed the former overall World Cup winner. It took winner Oftebro almost half an hour (29:59.4 min.), which was due to the conditions with fresh snow and the temperatures. "I would have preferred a compact, hard lap. There have been more exciting races to watch, but it was incredibly exhausting," said Lamparter, who came in second.

Oftebro a deserved champion for Lamparter
He was also particularly pleased that his family and friends were there in Tesero. "My sister and mom came to the cross-country race for the first time; they couldn't make it before. A lot of my friends were there too, which means a lot to me." Lamparter didn't complain about missing out on gold: "Oftebro was very strong. I do believe he could have been beaten, but he is a deserving Olympic champion."

Johannes Lamparter, Jens Luraas Oftebro, and Eero Hirvonen (from left to right)(Bild: AP/Matthias Schrader)

Stefan Rettenegger, who recently finished second in the Seefeld Triple, missed the podium by around 15 seconds, finishing fourth. "It was just incredibly tough. The steps were so deep, especially the second one and also the finish hill. I felt good for a long time, but when you try to go faster, you start to dig yourself in," he said, describing the extremely slushy conditions. "Fourth place isn't bad. Now maybe the cooler hill is coming, which I think suits me better." He had praise for Lamparter: "Jo skied a brutally strong last lap. It's cool to see him win the medal, that's very important for the whole team. Now we already have silver, so we can go into next week on a positive note."

His brother Thomas was in second place after the jump, but he is the weakest of the trio on the cross-country course. "I tried to keep up for as long as possible. We'll really attack on the big hill," he promised.

Oftebro puts the pressure on right from the start
In very soft conditions on the 10 km cross-country course, Jens Luraas Oftebro set a tremendous pace. The Norwegian had made up the 28-second gap to ski jumping winner Kristjan Ilves, who finished sixth, by the halfway point. At that point, seven athletes were within three seconds of each other. Stefan Rettenegger was in fourth place and Lamparter in seventh. After a brief collision, Oftebro fell briefly but immediately worked his way back to the front. Three-quarters of the way through the race, Stefan Rettenegger was just ahead of Oftebro and Hirvonen, with Lamparter in fifth place 1.2 seconds behind. Shortly before kilometer 8.7, Lamparter attacked and, together with Oftebro, seemed to distance themselves from the rest of the field. But Hirvonen fought his way back with a breakaway, and this trio pulled away and shared the medals.