Nordic combined history has been made by Japanese skier, Ayane Mizayaki. After Wednesday’s race at the Junior World Ski Championships in Lahti, Mizayaki became the first-ever female champion in Nordic combined.
She won the race with a time of 17:43.8, with Norway’s Gyda Westvold not far behind with a time of 17:47.4. Mizayaki’s fellow teammate Anju Nakamura finished in third place at 18:02.3.
The day started off with a bit of snowfall, but just before the start of the Nordic combined race, it began snowing heavily. The bad weather, combined with the difficult track made it a tough race for the ladies. None the less, it was an exciting, and nail-biting race to watch.
Lisa Hirner started the race off in the lead, but was caught up by Gyda Westvold on the first lap. But Ayane Mizayaki started to make her move, closing in on the lead athletes. Shortly after, Mizayaki and Westvold started to making their way ahead, while Lisa Hirner fell back.
Maria Gerboth caught up to Hirner, but in the second lap, Anju Nakamura became a force to be reckoned with. She closed in on Hirner, and quickly overtook Gerboth, securing herself the bronze medal in the race.
The main event was watching Westvold Hancen and Mizayaki battle it out for gold. With all the twists and turns, Mizayaki ended up making her mark and made Nordic history.
For the final results, head to the FIS SKI results page.
Stay tuned for more updated on the World Championships, and more!