Nordic Combined: Kristjan Ilves in good form since arriving in Italy
At the age of 29, Kristjan Ilves took the lead in the jumping competition in the first Olympic Nordic combined event. A benchmark performance for the Estonian, whose 2025-2026 season has nevertheless been a mixed one, alternating between places of honour and trickier competitions.
Kristjan Ilves, who has been training at the highest level in Trondheim (Norway) for several years, completed his preparations in Seefeld (Austria) before heading to Italy on Saturday. From the very first training sessions in Predazzo, the signs were positive: jumps measured at 101, 99 and 106 metres, synonymous with renewed confidence.
On Wednesday morning, he jumped 99 metres, taking advantage of favourable conditions, and opened up a 15-second lead over his nearest rival, Austria’s Thomas Rettenegger. A precious margin ahead of the cross-country ski pursuit.
“I know what I have to do. It’s particularly gratifying to feel that I’m in control in the most important competitions,” he recently told Sport Postimees.
On skis, Kristjan Ilves has already shown that he can compete with the best without being a pure cross-country skier. For example, he was ranked 4ᵉ from the season opener in Ruka (Finland), where he nibbled away at several places on the track after an average jump. More recently, on the world cup stage in Otepää (Estonia), he finished 6ᵉ, reducing a large gap recorded at the foot of the templin.
Another advantage: the man has experience. Ninth on the big hill in Beijing in 2022, his best Olympic result to date, he is competing in his fourth Games.
At the Milan/Cortina Olympics, Estonia is also pinning high hopes on him for the team event, where he will be teamed up with 16-year-old Ruubert Teder. “I was able to manage my nerves. It was my fourth-best jump in the last few days, so I’m very satisfied ,” Teder told ERR after his first Olympic flight at 90 metres.
