Norway's Jens Lurås Oftebro claimed gold in the Nordic combined skiing normal hill/10 kilometres event on Wednesday amid hopes of a good promotion of the endangered Olympic sport.
Having started the cross country pursuit in seventh place after a morning ski jump, Oftebro broke a seven-strong leader group in the final lap.
World Cup leader Johannes Lamparter of Austria managed to close the gap but never came close to passing Oftebro on the home straight.
Oftebro secured the gold one second ahead of Lamparter and Eero Hirvonen was a surprise bronze medallist to give Finland a first medal in the event in 24 years, 2.5 seconds off the pace.
Oftebro added a first individual gold to that from the 2022 team event and silver in the large hill competition.
The 2022 winner Vinzenz Geiger of Germany was 10th in soft conditions on a warm afternoon and Christian Ilves of Estonia, who had led after the jumping, finished sixth.
"It's an amazing feeling. It was a really tough course and loose conditions, so it’s really a tough race," Oftebro said.
"I almost crashed in the third loop where there was so much happening, so I felt pretty OK and was happy that I could get a gap in the last climb so I could reach the finish line first."
Nordic combined has been an Olympic sport since the first Winter Games in 1924.
It is now the only sport without gender equality after the women were not admitted because the sport was not universal enough and lacked in the broadcast and marketing area, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
A decision on 2030 is expected later this year, and there are fears that instead of adding the women the whole sport could be axed from the Games - prompting athletes to lobby for their sport over the past months.
"We have the greatest sport in the world. It is easy like this," Geiger said after the jumping leg in front of an unusually large crowd, hoping that Olympic leaders have taken notice.
