Nordic combined: Nathalie Armbruster, the combination to beat at the Trondheim Worlds
This winter, in the women’s Nordic combined world cup, 19-year-old German Nathalie Armbruster shone particularly brightly. While her rival Ida Marie Hagen seemed to be on course to win a second crystal globe in a row, she took advantage of the Norwegian’s setbacks, disqualified in the Triple, to take the overall lead.
With three wins between Seefeld (Austria) and Otepää (Estonia), Nathalie Armbruster is close to her first globe. As a result, she now enters the World Championships in Trondheim (Norway) as one of the favourites.
“As Aksel Lund Svindal told me, it’s a privilege to be able to go to a world championship as the favourite. That was a few weeks ago and I still didn’t know that I was really going to be the favourite for the medals. In a way, that has stayed with me and I think he’s right,” she explained in a statement from the German Ski Association.
First competition in the mass-start on Thursday
“I’m obviously aiming to come back with a medal. It would be wonderful if that happened in an individual competition, but I also see very good chances in our mixed team, continues Nathalie Armbruster. If it doesn’t work out the way I want, I have to say that I’ve already shown what I’m capable of very often this season. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. I think, as I’ve already said on many occasions, that the season has gone as well as I could ever have imagined in my wildest dreams. The fact that I can win three World Cup titles in the year of my baccalaureate is completely beyond my expectations. I wasn’t expecting it at all.”
With just a few days to go before the start of hostilities, Nathalie Armbruster, who was on training last week in Oberstdorf (Germany), says that “the excitement is enormous”. Her first race is scheduled for Thursday, with the mass-start.
- The full programme for the 2025 World Cross-Country Skiing, Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Championships in Trondheim
- Otepää: Nathalie Armbruster wins the individual compact finish ahead of Ida Marie Hagen, Léna Brocard eighth
