Athlete Bios
Nordic Combined
Ackermann: high-profile athlete in low-profile sport
Last Updated: Monday, February 8, 2010 | 3:39 PM ET
New York Times for CBC Sports
German Ronny Ackermann has experienced dramatic highs and lows have during his career. (Matthias Rietschel/Associated Press)Germany's Ronny Ackermann is one of the few high-profile competitors in the low-visibility sport of Nordic combined, an event that requires mastery of both ski jumping and cross-country racing.
Dramatic highs and lows have marked his career. His most significant victories include an individual silver medal at the 2002 Salt Lake Games and overall World Cup wins in the 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2007-08 seasons. He also won gold medals at the world championships in 2003, 2005 and 2007.
In 2005, after taking home two gold medals and a silver at the world championships, Ackermann was named Germany's sportsman of the year, defeating better-known athletes such as NBA player Dirk Nowitzki for the title.
But his career has also been marked by disappointment. Ackermann failed to win a medal at Turin in 2006, although he helped his team win silver. And despite 10 podium appearances during the 2007-08 season, his 2008-09 season was dismal, with just one World Cup win and a single second-place finish.
In the summer of 2009, while preparing for the Olympic season, Ackermann fell during a training jump and injured his spine, causing him to miss several weeks of training and raising questions about his ability to win a medal at Vancouver.
His return to competition for the first World Cup of the season in Kuusamo, Finland, was not successful - Ackermann placed 22nd on the first day, botched his jump on the second day and had to drop out. He later announced that he would not compete at the next World Cup event in Lillehammer, Norway. "I have realized that my body just needs a little time and quiet to relax," he told German reporters.
Ackermann was born in 1977 and first tried on a pair of skis when he was five years old. He got his competitive start as a cross-country skier but eventually switched to Nordic combined, attending a specialized ski school in Oberhof, Germany.
In May 2009, Ackermann married his longtime girlfriend, Annika, and the couple had their first child, Hugo, in August.
