Athletes of the Week: Gyda Westvold Hansen (NOR) & Johannes Lamparter (AUT)

The titles of Athlete of the Week belong to our newly-minted Junior World Champions this week. For one, Johannes Lamparter, it was the return to a gold medal in Lahti, which he had already won in 2019. For the other, Gyda Westvold Hansen, it finally was the validation of one of the most prolific careers in Women’s Nordic Combined of the last few years.

Both Lamparter and Westvold Hansen are podium threats on the World Cup level as the proved in Ruka (FIN) and Ramsau am Dachstein (AUT) this winter. Both were the clear favourites in their respective disciplines and both held up well to the pressure, putting them in contention for medals and top results in the senior category of the championships, which is on schedule in Oberstdorf next week.

Gyda Westvold Hansen has put the level of Ski Jumping in women’s Nordic Combined to new heights, clearly dominating proceedings on Lahti’s HS 100 normal hill. Also on the track, the 18-year-old, who has two more siblings involved in Nordic Combined, is a threat, as she proved in the memorable Women’s World Cup premiere in Ramsau am Dachstein in December.

While she ultimately had to accept defeat to Tara Geraghty-Moats (USA), who is almost 10 years her senior, it is clear that whoever wants to be on the top in Nordic Combined in the next season will have to go through Westvold Hansen.

Therefore, it was a pleasure to see the Norwegian finally rewarded with her gold medal and Junior World Champion title after collecting two silver medals in Lahti 2019 and Oberwiesenthal 2020.

After a breakthrough into the best of the best in the winter of 2020/21 which saw 19-year-old Johannes Lamparter collecting his first podium finishes and stable Top Ten results, the role of favourite was also attached in men’s Nordic Combined but World Cup proven Lamparter did not show any signs of nervousness. With a clear jumping victory and also the best cross-country time, he showed quite clearly why he is currently ranked seventh in the overall World Cup standings.

For Lamparter, doing well at the Junior World Championships offered a chance to collect confidence and an additional World Cup start right for the next year for his Austrian team (as Westvold Hansen will receive for her Norwegian team).

For both, the true test of her abilities will come in Oberstdorf at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships and after last week’s performances in Lahti, both should be on the shortlist to watch. Congratulations to a strong junior duo on their way to the history books of the seniors.