Overview
- The International Olympic Committee decided to drop Nordic combined from the 2030 Games, a change reported on Friday that ends the sport’s more than century-long run in the Olympic program.
- Bundestrainer Eric Frenzel says early talks with funders were negative and he expects the sport to survive at most one to two years without Olympic status.
- Frenzel reports that two key bodies that support equipment research and applied training, the FES and the IAT, plan to stop work on Nordic combined starting in January 2027.
- Top athletes, including Olympic champion Vinzenz Geiger, describe shock and a spreading sense of hopelessness that is already hurting morale and could reduce youth recruitment.
- If national funding and institutional support end, coaches warn that maintenance of jumps and cross-country facilities will decline and the sport’s competitive pipeline could disappear, threatening the long-term existence of Nordic combined.