The Long-Term Development of Training, Technical, and Physiological Characteristics of an Olympic Champion in Nordic Combined.

Nordic combined requires high technical skills and vertical impulse for the ski-jumping event and aerobic endurance, ski efficiency and finish-sprint abilities to succeed in the subsequent cross-country race. The main aim of this study was to investigate the development of training, technical, and physiological characteristics during the last four seasons preceding the Olympic Games in a Nordic Combined Champion [∼74 kg (63 kg lean-mass)]. During the first season of the 4-year cycle, the development of lower-body muscle-mass and vertical jump velocity was prioritized, after which the emphasis on developing the technical abilities were increased over the following three seasons.

Association between laboratory capacities and world-cup performance in Nordic combined.

Background: Nordic combined (NC) is an Olympic winter-sport performed as a ski jumping (SJ) event followed by a cross-country (XC) pursuit race employing the skating style.

Purpose: To elucidate the associations between sport-specific laboratory capacities and SJ, XC skiing, and overall NC performance in a world-cup NC event.

Methods: Twelve international world-cup NC athletes from 8 nations performed laboratory testing one day prior to participating in a world-cup NC event.

How Do World-Class Nordic Combined Athletes Differ From Specialized Cross-Country Skiers and Ski Jumpers in Sport-Specific Capacity and Training Characteristics?

Purpose: To compare sport-specific laboratory capacities and the annual training of world-class Nordic combined (NC) athletes with specialized ski jumpers (SJ) and cross-country (XC) skiers.

Methods: Five world-class athletes from each sports discipline were compared. Ski jump imitations were performed on a 3-dimensional force plate in NC athletes and SJ, whereas XC skiing characteristics were obtained from submaximal and maximal roller ski skating on a treadmill in NC athletes and XC skiers.

Concurrent Development of Endurance Capacity and Explosiveness: Training Characteristics of World-Class Nordic-Combined Athletes.

Unlabelled: Performing at an elite level in Nordic combined (NC) requires both the explosiveness required for ski jumping performance and the endurance capacity required for cross-country skiing.

Purpose: To describe the characteristics of world-class NC athletes' training and determine how endurance and non-endurance (ie, strength, power, and ski jumping) training is periodized.

Methods: Annual training characteristics and the periodization of endurance and non-endurance training were determined by analyzing the training diaries of 6 world-class NC athletes.