Gundersen method

The Gundersen method is a method in the Nordic combined developed by Gunder Gundersen, a Nordic combined athlete from Norway, that was first used in the 1980s. This technique turned the cross country skiing part of the Nordic combined from a point-based system where all athletes ski in an interval start manner and whoever earned the most points with the ski jumping part of the Nordic combined won the event to a pursuit race for the cross country skiing part where whoever crossed the finished first in the cross country skiing part of the Nordic combined event won the competition.

In the 15 km individual and 7.5 km sprint events, any point difference between athletes in the ski jumping event equaled 4 seconds difference in starting the cross country part of the competition. In the 4 x 5 km team event prior to 2005, any point difference between athletes in the ski jumping event equaled 1.5 seconds difference in starting the cross country part of the competition. From 2005 to the end of the 2007-08 World Cup, the difference in the 4 x 5 km team event is now one point equals one second. At the 2009 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, the team event point - time difference is one point equaling 1.33 seconds.

References

• NBC Olympics.com explanation on Gundersen method - Accessed January 9, 2007.