Defending World Cup champion Hannu Manninen of Finland has won the season-opening Nordic combined competition, a 15-kilometer freestyle event in Kuusamo, Finland.
Manninen started fourth in the freestyle skiing portion of the event and won in 37:19.08, nearly 2.5 minutes ahead of countryman Anssi Koivuranta. Norway's Petter Tande was third, 12.7 seconds behind Koivuranta.
The victory puts Manninen atop the World Cup overall standings. The Nordic Combined competition - which features both ski jumping and cross-country skiing - continues with a sprint event Sunday.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
