Status: 02/09/2022 12:44 p.m
Nordic combined athlete Vinzenz Geiger won the gold medal in the individual competition at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. The 24-year-old won the fourth German gold in China.
Nordic combined athlete Vinzenz Geiger won Olympic gold in the individual on the normal hill. After a jump and the following ten-kilometer run, the man from Oberstdorf, who had spent the past few days in corona isolation, prevailed over Norwegian Joergen Graabak and Lukas Greiderer from Austria.
It was the fourth gold in Beijing for the German team. The 24-year-old continued a German gold series: in 2018 in Pyeongchang, the combined athletes of national coach Hermann Weinbuch had won all three competitions.
Rydzek in fifth, Schmid in eighth
After a mixed jump, Geiger started the cross-country ski run in eleventh place. Team colleague Johannes Rydzek, who had laid the foundation for a possible triumph with 104 meters, was traded much higher at this point. Rydzek then also led for a long time, but Geiger started a final sprint and overtook all rivals in the last meters.
In the end, only fifth place remained for the 30-year-old Rydzek. The third German Julian Schmid finished eighth.
Numerous corona failures
Geiger is considered one of the best in the combined circuit scene. This time, however, the gold winner also benefited from the numerous corona failures in the field: teammate and Olympic champion Eric Frenzel was out, as was Norway’s world champion Jarl Magnus Riiber. The co-favorites Terence Weber (also Germany) and Kristjan Ilves (Estonia) had also tested positive for the virus in China and failed.
Geiger, on the other hand, was a contact person, but remained negative – and showed an outstanding athletic performance on the cross-country ski run. “I still see a small hint of possibility,” said national coach Weinbuch after jumping over Geiger. He took the chance and attacked from a chasing group. After jumping, he commented: “With a perfect running race, a medal is possible.”