Finland's Manninen wins combined event; Lodwick, Spillane in top 10

Finland’s Manninen wins combined event; Lodwick, Spillane in top 10{mosimage}USSA — World Cup leader Hannu Manninen of Finland edged teammate Samppa Lajunen by one tenth of a second Saturday in a World Cup nordic combined event at Holmenkollen in Oslo, Norway.

Todd Lodwick finished seventh, moving up five places in the 7.5km race, while Johnny Spillane was 10th.

Manninen, 14th in jumping, started the race three seconds back of Lajunen and a half-minute behind jump leader Mario Stecher of Austria. He was .1 ahead of Lajunen, 15.6 ahead of Germany’s Ronny Ackermann.

Spillane, the sprint world champion, was seventh in jumping and Lodwick was 12th. They finished in a group of six skiers with Lodwick 54.2 seconds back and Spillane 55.5. It’s Lodwick’s 13th consecutive top-10 finish; he stands fifth in points behind Manninen.

A nordic combined individual, with a 15kmace, is scheduled for Sunday before the nordic combined schedule concludes March 6-7 at the Finnish Ski Games in Lahti, Finland.

Nordic Combined World Cup
Holmenkollen Skifestival
Oslo, Norway, February 28, 2004
K120/7.5km Sprint
1. Hannu Manninen, Finland, (14/1)
2. Samppa Lajunen, Finland, 13/2) 0.1 seconds back
3. Ronny Ackermann, Germany, (2/9) 15.6
4. Mario Stecher, Austria, (1/12) 27.9
5. Daito Takahashi, Japan, (11/7) 34.1
Also:
7. Todd Lodwick, Steamboat Springs, Colo., (12/13) 54.2
10. Johnny Spillane, Steamboat Springs, Colo., (7/15) 55.5