Nordic Combined has been in the Olympics for over a century, but has never been open to women.
The ICO are claiming that this year’s games are “the most gender-balanced Olympic Winter Games in history,” with women making up 47 per cent of athletes. However, Nordic Combined is the only sport in this year’s Olympics in which women won’t compete.
Nordic combined featured in the first-ever winter games in 1924. The unique blend of cross-country skiing and ski jumping originated in Norway in the 18th century. It combines the two traditional Scandinavian skiing disciplines. It remains the only winter discipline without a women’s category.
Women have been able to compete in cross-country skiing since the 1952 Winter Olympics and ski jumping since 2014; however, they still can’t participate in Nordic Combined.
The first FIS Nordic Combined World Cup in women’s Nordic was held in the 2020-21 season and is now in its sixth season. It is the highest level of international competition for women. The same course, jumps, and distance are used for men and women.
There was hope that there had been a substantial enough growth for the sport since 2020 that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would include it for the 2026 Milano Cortina games.
However, the IOC announced via YouTube livestream in 2022 that women’s Nordic Combined would not feature in the 2026 programme.
Annika Malacinski, a U.S Nordic Combined skier, is advocating for gender equality in the Olympic Games. She has been using social media to campaign for women’s sports.
‘‘If I were a man, I would be competing’’ said Malacinski on TikTok last month after her brother Niklas was selected for the U.S Olympic team.
The IOC made their decision because Nordic combined needed to grow its athletes and audience, and diversity in competing countries, or risk losing its spot on the Olympic programme.
The IOC said Nordic combined will “undergo a full evaluation” based on its performance during the Milan Cortina Games to determine if the sport will be included in the 2030 Winter Olympics.
Malacinski will be watching her brother compete this week, saying the stakes are high. “If Nordic combined does not make it to the (2030 French Alps) Olympics, then most likely every single country will cut the funding,” she said in an interview with Reuters this month.
“We are now in a position where the whole sport is at risk,” she added. “If you cannot offer men and women equal opportunities, you also risk losing your place in the Games entirely.