The Nordic combined threatens to be eliminated from the Olympics. Now some DSV stars have spoken.
Cologne (SID) – Prominent winter athletes such as Karl Geiger, Johannes Rydzek and Eric Frenzel have called for the inclusion of the Nordic combined athletes in the Olympic program. “The decision on Friday is groundbreaking for the whole sport”said six-time world champion Rydzek. skispringer Geiger, a combined athlete himself as a child, is even worried about the future of the entire discipline.
A sport “with such a tradition” should not fall out of the program, said Geiger. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will decide on Friday whether women will be admitted to the 2026 Winter Games. The big concern: If the answer is “No”, it could also be the men in 2030.
Rydzek fears that too. “The Olympic Games, which thrive on tradition, must not start kicking their oldest sports out of the program just because they may not be as popular right now.”, said the two-time Olympic champion. Without the combination, later special jumpers like Geiger would lack the basis. “This is how a Nordic sport is slowly dying out”said Rydzek.
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Eric Frenzel stated he was “surprised” been, “that a deletion is in the room. It should be thought positively and the ladies should be included”said the sports soldier in a Bundeswehrinterview. “We men may have to make some compromises, but we’re willing to do it”said the 33-year-old.
Combined is currently the only discipline at the Winter Games in which no women compete. However, the IOC has set itself the goal of gender balance – but this could also be achieved with the end of men.
The women have been demanding equal rights for years, but the application for admission to Beijing 2022 failed. Now comes the next attempt. “An important decision is pending, a forward-looking one”, said the new women’s national coach Florian Aichinger. It’s about the future “to determine not only the king of winter sports, but also the queen.”