Two Sports in One
The Nordic Combined events are an awesome test of an athlete’s overall abilities. The sport includes both ski jumping and cross-country skiing which means that a Nordic Combined contestant has to have the explosive power of a ski jumper as well as the determined stamina of a cross-country racer.
The Nordic Combined Olympians will have to ski down a ramp at 80 miles per hour, jump, and then fly through the air for 90 meters (295 feet)! They’ll lean so far forward to take advantage of the aerodynamics that their skis will be just inches from their nose. Then the next day they will ski a strenuous 15 kilometers (9.32 miles) in a cross-country race.
Why is this so difficult? First of all, entirely different sets of muscles are used for each sport. Fast-twitch muscles, found in the thighs and buttocks, are the muscles used for ski jumping. Slow-twitch muscles in the legs and arms are called into action for the arduous cross-country race. Both muscle groups cannot be trained at the same time so the Nordic Combined athletes have double the workouts compared to other athletes.
Athletes like Bill Demong, a member of the U.S. Nordic Combined team, develop the fast twitch muscles with weight training the same way an NFL running back would. Bill also has an intense aerobic exercise schedule, much like a marathon runner. That way he can enhance the performance of the slow-twitch muscles and build his endurance. Finding the right balance between the two muscle groups and the two sports is a constant challenge.
Bill and his fellow teammates also have to switch mental gears for each sport. According to Todd Lodwick, another team member, “Ski jumping is 100 % mental. There is a lot of physical work you have to do to get to the point of jumping well. But once you are on top of the hill, it’s all mental. You just react.”
When it comes to the cross-country ski race, physical endurance has to be coupled with the mental exercise of strategy. You don’t just react; you plan. You need to know your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. While conserving your energy for the long and grueling race you also have to gauge when to push hard to gain or maintain the lead. Norway’s Bjarte Engen Vik, a recently retired Olympic champion puts it this way, “It’s all tactics when it comes to cross-country. You have to decide when to make your move, and what you and your opponent have left.”
As the Austrian entrant in the Winter Olympics Felix Gottwald says, “I think to be successful in Nordic Combined, you have to find a good mixture between jumping and cross-country. You have to have a good jump and good ski or you don’t win.” It’s as simple, and as difficult, as that!
