Previously, we talked about modern pentathlon, the Summer Olympic invent that is not modern and is no longer a pentathlon. There is perhaps less absurdity on the winter side, but there is still an event that combines unrelated sports into a multi-headed monstrosity.

Two different events that combine different sports?

Perhaps biathlon is not so absurd; it's skiing and shooting, which closely simulates life in the arctic. You ski, you shoot a bear, (you eat a bear,) you ski, you shoot... But Nordic combined? It's skiing and ski jumping. So you ski, come to a cliff, jump off it with skis still on? Why is there no event to combine running and diving in the summer version? (Let's not give them suggestions...)

In any case, Nordic combined has been part of the Winter Olympics since their inception in 1924. Norway swept the podium the first four times around. In 1948, Sven Israelsson of Sweden won the bronze. With a last name like that, it's quite possible that he had Jewish ancestry, but there is absolutely no way a sane Jew would ever ski 11 miles and then jump off a cliff.

Hebraic combined: nosh and kvetch?