'King' of Nordic Combined Riiber to retire at end of season

Jarl Magnus Riiber, the most successful Nordic Combined athlete of all time, has revealed he will retire at the end of the current season.   

The Norwegian star, 27, has won a joint-record five Viessmann FIS World Cup overall titles and extended his own record of individual World Cup victories to 76 this season, with 103 podium finishes in all.

He also leads the current standings in his pursuit of a sixth overall title to put himself out on his own above the great Eric Frenzel (GER), who also won five.

Riiber is set to compete in his fourth FIS Nordic World Ski Championships on home snow in Trondheim next month, aiming to add to his tally of 11 World Championship medals, including four individual golds and four team golds.

But he has struggled at times with his form this season, notably in Schonach recently where he faded from first to sixth during the second half of a dramatic Gundersen cross-country.

Riiber spent much of the preceding break in competition “in and out of hospital” trying to find answers to the health problems that have affected him in recent months.

He revealed on Wednesday that he has been diagnosed with Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory condition in the digestive system he will have to live with for the rest of his life.

“It also causes joint and tendon pain, explaining the discomfort I have dealt with for a long time,” he said. “Thankfully my medication helps a lot, though it will weaken my immune system.

“Although the team doctors and Lillehammer hospital have given me excellent support and are optimistic I could continue competing as normal, there are uncertainties about whether my health will hold up.

“Illness and injuries have been constant challenges throughout my career - bad ankles and knees, a dislocated shoulder eight times, joint pain and more.

The Oslo native also said spending long periods away from his partner Sunna and young family - four-year-old daughter Ronja and 10-month-old son Birk (below) - in order to try to stay healthy himself had taken its toll.

“Since September, I have only spent three weeks with my family,” he explained. “For one season this is manageable, especially when it is a home World Championships in Trondheim.

“But even when results come, I don’t find the joy in it anymore. The sport consumes my entire day, every day, and it feels like I am a prisoner to my own goals.

“With an Olympics next year, I would need to make enormous sacrifices again, considering my health situation. I am not sure my body can handle it.

“I would rather step away now, while I am still at my peak, to focus on my health and enjoy life with my family. I am super excited to be more present for my loved ones, especially my partner who has spent almost five years raising our family like a single mum while also being a manager for my career. Now it is their turn to come first.”

Riiber’s reign of dominance

Riiber has won three of the nine competitions so far this season and earned three other podiums to lead the World Cup standings by 72 points, with 10 more scheduled events remaining.

Three of those come this weekend in Seefeld (AUT), where Riiber claimed his first World Cup podium as a 17-year-old – on only his third World Cup start - in January 2015.

Four more followed the next season, including a first World Cup victory in Oslo. But it wasn’t until 2018-19 that Riiber’s astonishing run of dominance took off, with 12 individual wins securing the first of four successive overall titles.

There were 14 more individual victories in 2019-20, nine in a 2020-21 season shortened by the Covid pandemic, and another 13 in 2021-22.

After finishing fourth behind Johannes Lamparter (AUT), fellow Norwegian Jens Luraas Oftebro and Julian Schmid (GER) in 2022-23, despite 12 podiums including another eight wins, Riiber returned with a bang last season.

In an incredible campaign featuring a record 16 wins in 19 events, he never finished worse than second to seal a dominant fifth overall title by 340 points.

This weekend he returns to Seefeld, where he has won 10 World Cup events over the last five years, including three ‘Triples’ in 2020, 2021 and 2024.

Riiber said he would see how his body reacts to competing in three competitions in successive days before deciding whether to complete the rest of the World Cup season.

“I will make some choices after Sunday about whether I am going all-in for the World Championships or trying to do both," he said.

No individual Olympic gold on CV

The only thing missing from Riiber’s bulging trophy cabinet is an Olympics gold medal.

As a 20-year-old he had two individual fourth places but won a team silver at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

In 2022 in Beijing, with athletes forced into isolation in China because of the lingering Covid protocols, Riiber could only manage eighth place in the individual large hill competition after taking a wrong turn on the cross-country course.

But he said the prospect of trying to fill that gap on his CV next year at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games in Italy did not affect a retirement decision which had “come to him slowly” since October.

“When I realised the problem was still with me going to Ruka and Lillehammer, I felt like ‘this is not as planned. I am sacrificing a lot away from family to stay healthy, and I am still sick’.

Riiber said after getting clarity on the issue, he “wouldn’t risk another season” as there would still be “a 50/50 chance of being sick going into an important season with the Olympics”.

“To now have a better chance to take care of my health and build a better body for the future and stay more with the family without the anxiety of being sick or injured is something I am really looking forward to,” he added. “That is a relief for me.

“What motivated me to be a Nordic Combiner was Eric Frenzel and his yellow jersey. That made me go out two or three times each day for training and put in the effort to be the world's best athlete in Nordic Combined.

“For many the Olympic dream is important but to be part of the FIS World Cup and FIS World Championships is something that mattered the most for me.

'The supreme best' - What rivals say about Riiber

Jorgen Graabak (NOR, below left), two-time Olympic individual champion and team-mate:

“Jarl hasn’t just dominated – he’s redefined what it means to be a Combined athlete and lifted the sport to new heights.  Right from the start, it was clear that Jarl came in with a unique drive and a mindset that stood out.

“It has been a privilege to be part of his journey. Although I would probably have had more World Cup victories without Jarl on the starting line, he has been one of the biggest sources of inspiration in my career.

“His level of fitness, attitude, dedication and competitiveness has pushed me to reach my own potential."

Johannes Lamparter (AUT), the only man other than Riiber to win the title in the last six years:

“Many of my victories were when Jarl was not there so it always means a bit more when he is on the start-line because he is the king of our sport.”

Jens Luraas Oftebro (NOR, above right), Olympic individual silver medallist and team-mate:

“It’s hard to describe what a unique athlete you are and how you’ve managed to revolutionise an entire sport. It’s been incredibly inspiring to have the opportunity to compete with and against the supreme best in history.

“It’s been an almost impossible task to challenge you in recent years. It has given the rest of us a lot of motivation to take new steps, even though you are always two steps ahead of the rest!”

Stefan Rettenegger (AUT), runner-up to Riiber in the overall standings last season:

“Like every year, Jarl is the one to beat. He’s just a very good ski jumper and a very fast cross-country skier.”

Vinzenz Geiger (GER), who is second behind Riiber in this year’s World Cup standings:

"Jarl will be the man to beat for a gold medal in the World Championships - regardless of the competition format or the country we're in.”

Kristjan Ilves (EST), who finished fifth overall last season and trains with the Norwegian team:

“Jarl likes to have someone pushing him so he can be even better. It’s good for him, but maybe not so good for us!”