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The United States Nordic combined program has been salvaged for the upcoming World Cup season, receiving desperately needed financial help from the International Ski and Snowboard Federation.
FIS gave Nordic Combined USA a grant last week, a contingency the Steamboat Springs, Colorado-based nonprofit needed to enter a new partnership with its Norwegian counterpart.
“Definitely an extreme relief,” Niklas Malacinski, a 2026 Olympic hopeful, told The Associated Press. “I don't know how else this would've been done.”
Americans who compete internationally in Nordic combined, which encompasses ski jumping and cross-country skiing, lost funding for training and coaching from USA Nordic Sport last June.
That decision sent athletes, their parents and supporters of the sport scrambling to save the season for the U.S. men and women after they showed signs of improvement during a two-year partnership with the traditionally powerful Norwegians.
Nordic Combined USA was created to pick up the pieces. The all-volunteer nonprofit led by president Jill Brabec, whose daughter, Alexa, is a Nordic combined athlete and four-time Olympian Taylor Fletcher asked donors for funds and made a grant request with FIS.
About $350,000 has been raised toward the organization's $500,000 budget for the 2024-25 season.
“We've come a long way, but we still have a long way to go,” said Fletcher, who is on the Nordic Combined USA board.
The Americans will share coaches, training facilities, sports science data and efforts to attract sponsors with Norges Hopplandslaget. Even though Norway competes with the U.S., it wants the country to be a part of a sport that is often overlooked outside of Norway, Germany and Austria.
“We need the U.S. team up there to make Nordic combined stronger short term and long term,” Team Norway sport director Ivar Stuan said.
In the past, Americans have had some success in the sport. Bill Demong became the first from the U.S. to win Olympic gold in Nordic combined at the 2010 Vancouver Games, where the Americans also earned two silver medals.
It is in sports' best interest to have an American presence because Nordic combined could potentially be cut from the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps. That would be one way to address the discipline being the only Olympic sport without gender equality.
“There's always that risk,” Fletcher said. "The Olympics are always looking at keeping the program fresh and adding sports can come at a cost of other sports.
“We're going to focus on building the sport to create a great TV product in as many nations as possible. We're fortunate to have this partnership with Norway again to allow our athletes to showcase the sport in the U.S. and across the world.”
Nordic combined, which was part of the first Winter Olympics in 1924, challenges athletes in a unique way. They need to have finesse and be fearless for ski jumping and the strength and stamina necessary for a 10-kilometer cross-country course.
The Nordic combined World Cup season begins Nov. 28 in Ruka, Finland.
FIS Nordic combined race director Lasse Ottesen declined to say how much money was given to Nordic Combined USA.
“The amount of the grant is confidential, but we hope the support will contribute to further development of the cooperation with Norway and the youth development,” Ottesen said Tuesday. “The U.S. is an important part of the Nordic Combined family and we are of course looking forward to come back to Salt Lake in 2034 for the Olympic Games.”
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Follow Larry Lage at https://twitter.com/larrylage
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More AP Sports: https://apnews.com/sports