COC: Geraghty-Moats takes win in inaugural 2 jump 7.5 km event, Kleinrath steals the overall victory

The last competition day of the women’s Nordic Combined season 2020/21 promised a big showdown of who will finally win the Continental Cup overall this year. Leader Gyda Westvold Hansen (NOR) was not in Nizhny Tagil but her 300 points from three victories in Eisenerz were still the mark to beat. Even with another victory today, back-to-back Nizhny Tagil winner Tara Geraghy-Moats would not be able to surpass her, only draw even and take a shared overall victory with the Norwegian.

Two other athletes, however, still had all cards in their hands: Austria’s Lisa Hirner (243 points) and teammate Sigrun Kleinrath (240). Both athletes needed to be on the podium in the Final Individual Gundersen event which consisted of two jumps and 7.5 km of skiing  - a world premiere for the Nordic Combined women.

Austria’s Annalena Slamik dazzled with two great jumps in the women’s jumping rounds, the first of which carried her to 99.5 metres. She followed up with 93.5 metres and claimed the pole position for the first-ever 7.5 km race ever for the Nordic Combined women.

Slamik, however, did not have to start the race alone as Sigrun Kleinrath stayed on track for the overall and also showed impressive jumps of 93 and 88 metres. She collected 221.1. to Slamik’s 221.4 points. Only one second separated the two at the beginning of the race.

Her fellow overall contender Lisa Hirner had less luck. After a failed second jump of only 76 metres and a three minute and forty second start delay, the Austrian gave up and did not start today’s race anymore.

As expected, a bigger gap opened to the following athletes after two jumps. Russian local hero Stefaniya Nadymova was third with jumps of 88.5 and 90 metres. With a point total of 201.1 points, she started her race one minute and 21 seconds behind the two Austrians. Tara Geraghty-Moats started her attack to claim the Continental Cup overall also in 2021 from position four. Strong jumping with distances of 89.5 and 88 metres still gave her one minutes and 52 seconds to make up, which was a challenge the American accepted on the 7.5 km race.

Claudia Purker (AUT) and Svenja Würth (GER) were fifth and sixth but with start delays of +2:07 and +2:22, the odds were stacked against the stronger ski jumpers, so that also the German did not start the race anymore.

Kleinrath and Slamik began the race together but it was clear quite fast that the only 17-year-old Sigrun Kleinrath was out for blood today. She left Slamik behind already on the first of three laps and skied the lonely race until a fast-approaching Tara Geraghty-Moats caught her on the second lap and left her behind.

Far from discouraged, Kleinrath soldiered on and claimed a rock-solid second place by finishing only 32.2 seconds after the American cross-country prodigy. And so even though she claimed the win of the day, Tara Geraghty-Moats finally shared a second place in the overall with Gyda Westvold Hansen, while Sigrun Kleinrath stole the win by 20 points.

Annalena Slamik, who is more known as a strong ski jumper proved to be solid on the skinny skis as well and claimed her career-first podium with rank three, +1:39.4 after the winner. Stefaniya Nadymova was fourth (+2:13.1) and the Top Ten were completed by 15-year-old Russian Mariia Kuzmina on rank five, Cindy Haasch on six, Maria Gerboth on seven, Sophia Maurus on eight, Svetlanda Gladikova on nine and Claudia Purker on ten.

Ski Jumping Results
Final Results
Continental Cup Standings
Nations Cup