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Nordic Combined
The Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in both cross-country skiing and ski jumping. While Norwegian soldiers are known to have been competing in nordic skiing since the 18th century, the first major competition in Nordic combined was held in 1892 in Oslo at the first Holmenkollen ski jump|Holmenkollen Ski Festival, an event still held annually. In Norway, popularity of the Holmenkollen, and Nordic combined in general, was great, and in fact separate ski jumping events weren't held at Holmenkollen until 1933. It is still held in all Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics|Winter Olympics. There is currently no women's competition in the Olympic games. The sport was included at the 1924 Winter Olympics, and has been on the programme ever since. World Championships have been held since 1925. See also: FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Traditionally, Norway has always delivered top athletes in the sport, but Finland, Germany, Austria and Japan are also among the top nations in the Nordic combined. As of 2006, top athletes in the sport include current World Champion Hannu Manninen, Ronny Ackermann and Felix Gottwald.