Joining the 2022 Winter Olympics for the first time is the mixed team ski jumping event. Although the event already made its way to the international stage at the World Cup in 2012 in efforts to advance gender equality, this will be the first time the event premiers at the Winter Olympics. Nations that qualify for this competition enter two men and two women to create their team.
What is mixed team ski jumping?
The mixed team event will take place on the normal hill at the Zhangjiakou Ski Jump Center and uses the same scoring as the men’s team competition. The order in which athletes will jump off the take-off table will switch between the woman and men, with the woman starting first. Beginning with one trial round and following with two rounds of competition, only the best eight teams from the first round will advance to the second. The order teams compete in during the finals will be in reverse order of the standings.
Who to look out for
Since Anna Hoffmann was the only woman to qualify for Team USA, the U.S. team will not be entered in this event. The German team is the fan favorite to win the mixed team event with gold medal finishes in the last four World Championships. Karl Geiger will make his second appearance on the ramp for a redemption run after not earning a top finish in the men's normal hill competition. Fighting the German team for gold will be Austria’s stacked mixed team of Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, Stefan Kraft, Lisa Eder and Manuel Fettner. Not only do the Austrians have Fetter, who was the silver medalist in the men’s normal hill final, but they also have Iraschko-Stolz, who was the 2021 women’s normal hill world champion.