German Nordic combined Olympic champion Rydzek to end career

Multiple world and Olympic champion Johannes Rydzek will end his Nordic combined skiing career at Sunday's World Cup season finale in Oslo.

Rydzek, 34, said in a German Ski Federation (DSV) statement on Thursday that the competition at the famed Holmenkollen venue will be his last.

"It's time to say goodbye! It feels like the right moment, I am completely at peace with myself," he said. "I am taking a lot of emotions with me to Norway, including a touch of melancholy," he said.

"I spent more than half my life travelling around the World Cup circuit. I will miss this journey, these moments and the people I had the privilege of meeting and experiencing."

Rydzek competed at five Olympics and won double gold in 2018. He has seven world titles, including a sweep of all four titles in 2017, and 18 medals overall at worlds and Olympics. He also won 18 World Cup races between 2011 and 2024, and was a World Cup runner-up twice.

Rydzek said he planned to stay in the sport in a new role, saying: "Because the sport has given me so much it will always have a big place in my heart."

Germany coach Eric Frenzel said: "Being able to perform at such a high level for so many years, always being ready for major events – that's not easy, it was great.

"I am grateful to have spent so many years with him. As an athlete, but also as a coach: working with an athlete who was always ready to give his all with determination and ambition, day after day, with enormous motivation, over so many years – not many people can do that, Johannes is an exception. He can be proud of that."