Brabec Earns First World Cup Podium in Trondheim

In the inaugural competition of the women’s nordic combined FIS World Cup season, Stifel U.S. Nordic Combined Team athlete Alexa Brabec claimed a spot on the podium in Trondheim, Norway, crossing the line in third. It was Brabec's first World Cup podium and the first U.S. World Cup podium since Tara Geraghty-Moats won the inaugural women's nordic combined World Cup in 2020. 

Following a strong 2024-25 season where Brabec landed in the top 10 World Cup overall standings and fourth in the World Championships, she took her first World Cup podium in the women’s individual Gundersen normal hill HS102/5k. 

Brabec jumped a solid 94 meters on the HS102, with her points putting her in fifth place to start the 5k race -- 1 min, 12 seconds back from the leader, Norway’s Ingrid Laate. She quickly skied up into a pack of four who caught and passed Laate. Brabec and Germany’s Nathalie Armbruster pulled away from that pack and were joined by Norway’s Ida Marie Hagen. The three top women skied together for most of the second lap and Brabec held her position in third place, stepping upon the podium for the first time in her World Cup career. 

“I have been working so hard this summer and without the Olympics on the plate for us, podiuming in a World Cup was my big goal," said Brabec. "It feels so insane to have achieved it and at the first World Cup of the season too."

Another notable result came in the men’s normal hill provisional round, where Niklas Malacinski established a 10th-place result -- the jump score that would be used if there are weather issues that impact the jumping events for the men over the weekend. While this result may not be used, it reflects Malacinski's potential to be a top-10 contender at the highest level of the sport. 

Rounding out the rest of the Stifel U.S. Nordic Combined Team women's team, Annika Malacinski was 17th and Geraghty-Moats 19th. 

RESULTS
Women