Men’s & Women’s Nordic Combined – Oberstdorf Summer Grand Prix USA Nordic Recap

Men’s and Women’s Nordic Combined competed in their second Summer Grand Prix event of the season today in Oberstdorf, Germany. Annika Malacinski, Tess Arnone and Jared Shumate kept things rolling after Oberwiesenthal, scoring more Summer Grand Prix points, with Ben Loomis scoring his first Summer Grand Prix points of the season.

The day started with the Women’s Nordic Combined Normal Hill HS106/5km competition. Malacinski was able to jump to 15th place with an 84.0 meter jump (86.0 points), putting her +2:42 behind the leader for the 5km race. Arnone then recorded a 63.5 meter jump (39.3 points), placing her in 22nd to start the 5km race, +5:49 behind the leader.

Malacinski was able to cover some ground, as she finished 14th overall in the 5km race, with the 8th fastest time of the day at 16:51.1. Arnone then placed 21st overall with the 14th fastest time of the day, finishing the 5km course in 17:34.5.

“I will say that it was not our strongest day jumping on the hill,” said Women’s Nordic Combined Head Coach, Tomas Matura. “However, it was a very solid race for both Annika and Tess, as they were both able to record great times on the course.”

The day’s action then concluded with the Men’s Nordic Combined Large Hill HS137/10km event. Loomis recorded a 114.5 meter jump (109.5 points), putting him 31st place to start the 10km race. Shumate was close behind, as he jumped to 112.0 meters (105.0 points), putting him in 40th place. Jasper Good and Stephen Schumann then followed, with Good tallying a 111.5 meter jump (101.3 points) to put him in 44th, and Schumann going for 101.5 meters (82.4 points) to put him in 54th to start the 10km race.

Loomis was then able to ski up from 31st place, finishing 23rd overall, to notch his first Summer Grand Prix points of the season. Shumate then kept his momentum going from Oberwiesenthal, making a huge leap from 40th, finishing 29th overall. Good was close behind, as he skied up from 44th to finish 33rd overall. Schumann rounded things off, covering ground from 54th to finish 45th overall, to wrap up the Oberstdorf Summer Grand Prix.

“As a team, we had an ‘OK’ performance on the jump hill, but some great races from all of the athletes,” said Men’s Nordic Combined Team Director, Nick Hendrickson. “The atmosphere in Oberstdorf was back after a few years without spectators. We had a full crowd and the street course was lined with spectators, which made for a great event. The team is excited for the final Summer Grand Prix events in Tschagguns, Austria.”