Johannes Rydzek (; born 9 December 1991) is a German

nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...

skier. He became Olympic champion on the large hill in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and won six World Champion titles at the Nordic World Ski Championships in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Career

Rydzek has had a remarkable career in Nordic Combined, marked by numerous accolades at the World Championships, World Cups, and the Olympics. He debuted in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

in Kuusamo in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. He first gained international recognition with a bronze medal in the 4 x 5 km team event at the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. Over his career, he has secured 18 World Cup victories, with his first win in March 2011 in

Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. That same year, he earned a silver medal in the Large Hill Gundersen event at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Holmenkollen Holmenkollen () is a mountain and a neighbourhood in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. It goes up to above sea level and is well known for its international skiing competitions. Etymology The name is a compound of the farm name and the ...

. Rydzek discovered his passion for Nordic sports at an early age, starting ski jumping shortly before his fifth birthday. Inspired by his father, a volunteer at the

Four Hills Tournament The Four Hills Tournament () or the German-Austrian Ski Jumping Week () is a ski jumping event composed of four World Cup events and has taken place in Germany and Austria each year since 1953. With few exceptions, it has consisted of the ski ju ...

, and his family outings on cross-country skis, Rydzek developed a fascination for the unique combination of speed and endurance in Nordic Combined. At a young age, he can look back on some successes in his career, winning three silver medals at World Championships and a bronze and silver medal at Olympic Games. The resident of Oberstdorf, Germany, has another great achievement in his list of merits concerning the Summer Grand Prix. In the past four years, he has always been able to win at least one competition in front of his home crowd, crowning his success with the win of the overall SGP ranking in 2011. With four total World Cup victories, three in the past winter season of 2013/14, the young German has upped the ante and was hot on the heels of teammate

Eric Frenzel Eric Frenzel (born 21 November 1988) is a German former nordic combined skier and current discipline coach for the German nordic combined team. Career One of the most successful nordic combined athletes of all time. He won the Olympic gold medal ...

, taking second place in the overall World Cup ranking. By 2015, Rydzek had achieved unprecedented success, winning four medals at the

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabit ...

: two gold, one silver, and one bronze, making him the most decorated athlete of the competition. The last break-through of Johannes Rydzek in 2015 became his nomination for the main sports award in Germany: " Sportspersonality of the Year" (''German: Sportler des Jahres'') 2015, where he was announced as a winner together with the

team (nomination: Team of Year) and ranked as 3rd in personal voting by German broadcaster

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

. In October 2016 Johannes Rydzek wins his 6th title of German Champion in the town of Oberhof. In 2017, Rydzek was named Germany's "Sportsman of the Year" after an extraordinary season, further cementing his reputation as one of the best athletes in the sport's history. At the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

, Rydzek won a gold medal in the Individual Gundersen LH/10 km Cross-Country, finishing before his teammates

Fabian Rießle Fabian Rießle (also spelled Riessle, born 18 December 1990) is a German former nordic combined skier. Career At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi he won the bronze medal in the Nordic combined at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Individual large hil ...

and

. This also marked the first time since 1976 that three German athletes managed to secure medals in the same Nordic combined event at Olympic Games. On 22 February he clinched another gold medal in the Men’s Team competition with Rießle, Frenzel, and

Vinzenz Geiger Vinzenz Geiger (born 24 July 1997) is a German Nordic combined skier and the 2022 Olympic champion. He debuted in the World Cup in the 2015–16 season in Lillehammer, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countri ...

, solidifying Germany's dominance in Nordic Combined. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the sport, Rydzek was awarded the prestigious Holmenkollen Medal in 2021.

Personal life

Rydzek is the brother of cross-country skier Coletta Rydzek.

Record

Olympic Games

World Championship

World Cup

Individual victories

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rydzek, Johannes 1991 births German male Nordic combined skiers Living people Nordic combined skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics Nordic combined skiers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Nordic combined skiers at the 2018 Winter Olympics Nordic combined skiers at the 2022 Winter Olympics Olympic Nordic combined skiers for Germany Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic silver medalists for Germany Olympic bronze medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in Nordic combined FIS Nordic World Ski Championships medalists in Nordic combined Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Skiers from Oberstdorf } German people of Polish descent 21st-century German sportsmen