Johannes RYDZEK

Johannes Rydzek discovered his passion for Nordic sports at a young age. "I always went cross-country skiing with my parents. My dad was a volunteer at the Four-Hills-Tournament and that was also a reason why I always wanted to jump". The time came time shortly before his fifth birthday. As a child, he first started ski jumping and cross-country skiing seperately of each other but Johannes, who gave his World Cup debut in Kuusamo in 2008, was quickly fascinated by the combination of speed and endurance which Nordic Combined demands.

Going home with three silver medals from World Championships in Oslo in 2011 and a bronze and a silver medal from Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014, the by then 22-year-old already knew how success tasted but first became well-known for his always spectacular performances in the Summer Grand Prix. For six years in a row, he always managed to win at least one competition in front of his home crowd in Oberstdorf, crowning his success with the win of the overall SGP ranking in 2010, 2014 and 2015.

Rydzek's big breakthrough into the world elite came in the season 2014/15. The World Championships in Falun, Sweden turned into "Rydzek-Games" with the 23-year-old climbing every single one of the four podiums, coming away with a full medal set of two golds, one silver and one bronze, among these his first individual title, the gold medal in the normal hill Gundersen event. He topped off his season with the third place in the overall World Cup ranking.

In the following winter, Rydzek struggled with his performances for a long time always either having great jumps coupled with a weaker race or the other way round. Only when Nordic Combined returned to Kuopio after a long absence in the Finnish venue, Rydzek capitalized on a strong performance on the jumping hilll and the track and took his only victory that season. He still ended on the fifth place in the overall rankings.

The winter 2016/17 showed a different Rydzek, a well-balanced athlete, who shone with performances on the jumping hill and cross-country track. As a result, Rydzek advanced to superstar Eric Frenzel's main contender and lost his claim to the overall victory that season only on the last weekend in Schonach. Rydzek was the hero of the World Championships in Lahti, winning every of the possible four gold medals, a feat no athlete had achieved before in Nordic Combined.

In his leisure time, Johannes likes everthing ski-related, be it alpine, telemark or ski tours, as well as exploring the mountains around his hometown of Oberstdorf, Germany.