Johannes Rydzek (German pronunciation:[joˈha.nəsˈʁʏ.t͡sɛk]ⓘ; born 9 December 1991) is a German nordic combined skier. He became Olympic champion on the large hill in 2018 and won six World Champion titles at the Nordic World Ski Championships in 2015 and 2017.[1]
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 in Kuusamo in 2008.
Over his career, he has secured 18 World Cup victories, with his first win in March 2011 in Lahti, Finland. That same year, he earned a silver medal in the Large Hill Gundersen event at the World Championships in Holmenkollen.
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, 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, taking second place in the overall World Cup ranking.
By 2015, Rydzek had achieved unprecedented success, winning four medals at the World Championships in Falun: two gold, one silver, and one bronze, making him the most decorated athlete of the competition.[2]
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 nordic combined team (nomination: Team of Year) and ranked as 3rd in personal voting by German broadcaster ZDF.
In October 2016 Johannes Rydzek wins his 6th title of German Champion in the town of Oberhof.[3][4]
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.[5]
At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Rydzek won a gold medal in the Individual Gundersen LH/10 km Cross-Country, finishing before his teammates Fabian Rießle and Eric Frenzel.[6] 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.[7] On 22 February he clinched another gold medal in the Men’s Team competition with Rießle, Frenzel, and Vinzenz Geiger, solidifying Germany's dominance in Nordic Combined.[8]
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the sport, Rydzek was awarded the prestigious Holmenkollen Medal in 2021.[9]
