American Nordic combined athlete Alexa Brabec added to her growing list of accomplishments, setting a new women's hill record on Jan. 17 as the World Cup returned to Oberhof, Germany, for the first time in 16 years. The event marked the first time a women's World Cup event was held at the venue.

As the second-to-last jumper in the weekend's opening compact/normal hill event, the 21 year old leapt a staggering 103.5 meters (roughly 340 feet), flying 4.5 meters farther than Norway's Ingrid Laate for her first-ever win in the jumping round. She then ended the cross-country race in 4th, just 22 seconds off the podium. The next day, she grabbed another 4th-place finish in the Gunderson/normal hill.

Brabec has placed 4th or higher in each of her nine events so far this season, marking the best and most consistent performance by a U.S. man or woman since Tara Geraghty-Moats in 2021. Ranked 2nd overall, Brabec has made the podium in four of those events, earning two silvers and two bronzes. 

Geraghty-Moats and Annika Malacinski each cracked the top 15 twice in Oberhof. Geraghty-Moats, who returned to the Nordic Combined World Cup circuit this season after five years away from the sport, skied up 18 places to finish 8th in the compact, then crossed the finish line 15th in the Gunderson. Malacinski landed 13th in the compact and 11th in the Gunderson. 

One week earlier, the three women closed the Otepaa World Cup with top-10 placements in the compact/normal hill.

The U.S. men once again found their highest finishes behind Malacinski's brother, Niklas, who skied into the top 20 in both the compact (20th) and Gunderson (17th). With four top-20 finishes so far this season, he is the only American man ranked inside the top 30 (29th). 

The consistent results the American squad has earned this season potentially signal the beginning of a long-awaited shift for the U.S. Nordic combined program, which historically has not seen much success on the international level. The United States has not earned an Olympic medal of any color since 2010, when the team exploded for four podium finishes (1 gold, 3 silvers), marking the first time an American Nordic combined athlete had landed on the Olympic podium. 

Shortly following the Beijing Games in 2022, USA Nordic Sport, which then included both the Nordic combined and ski jumping disciplines, struck a deal with the Norwegian national team in which the two countries would share resources, training staff, technology, and more. American athletes began living and training in Norway through much of the year, and the two American teams have been climbing the international rankings steadily in the years since.

The Nordic Combined World Cup will continue in Seefeld, Austria, with the prestigious Seefeld Triple, beginning Jan. 30. The three-day competition will be the last before the 2026 Olympics kick off on Feb. 7. 

Nordic combined at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games will take place from Feb. 11 to Feb. 19.