Norway Sweeps as Nordic Combined Team Sprint Faces an Uncertain Olympic Future
The Nordic Combined Team Sprint produced a dominant Norwegian victory Thursday, with Jens Luraas Oftebro earning his second gold as questions swirl over whether the event will remain on the Olympic program.
Nordic Combined Team Sprint: podium and performance
The team sprint at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Tesero and Predazzo, Italy, delivered a full set of results that underscored Norway's strength in the discipline. Gold went to the Norwegian duo of Andreas Skoglund and Jens Luraas Oftebro, with Oftebro notching his second Olympic gold of these Games. Finland secured the silver medal through Eero Hirvonen and Ilkka Herola, while Austria took bronze with Stefan Rettenegger and Johannes Lamparter.
Images and race action from Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026 (ET), showed tight competition in both the ski jumping and cross-country components, but Norway emerged clearly in front at the finish. The sweep highlighted the nation's depth in the event and gave Oftebro a standout moment with his second top podium result of the Games.
What the result means amid doubts about the sport's Olympic status
The weekend's result arrives as the broader future of the discipline is being debated. Organizers and stakeholders have been considering the program and whether to keep certain winter events; the team sprint unfolded under that cloud of uncertainty. Norway's clean victory and Oftebro's repeat gold have become part of the larger conversation about whether one of the Winter Games' tougher sports will remain a fixture.
For athletes and national teams, the outcome is twofold: a celebration of accomplishment and an anxious pause as the sport's Olympic continuity is questioned. The medal podium — Norway first, Finland second, Austria third — will stand in the record books, even as planning for future editions of the Games contemplates potential changes to the event lineup.
Immediate fallout and next steps for competitors
Athletes who reached the podium can expect increased attention on their achievements in the short term, while the sport's governing and organizing bodies will likely weigh the implications of the results when discussing the program's future. The Norwegian performance, led by Skoglund and Oftebro, offers a clear narrative of dominance that could influence assessments about competitive balance and spectator interest.
Meanwhile, Finland's Eero Hirvonen and Ilkka Herola, along with Austria's Stefan Rettenegger and Johannes Lamparter, demonstrated strong showings that kept the event competitive. Their silver and bronze results underscore that, even amid debates over the discipline's future at the Olympics, the field produced intense, high-level racing on Feb. 19, 2026 (ET).
As discussions continue about the Olympic program and the place of the Nordic Combined Team Sprint within it, Thursday's race will be remembered both for Norway's sweep and for Jens Luraas Oftebro's second gold — achievements that may shape the dialogue about the sport's status in years to come.
