IOC axes Nordic combined for 2030 Games, retains snowboard parallel giant slalom

July 7 : The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday dropped Nordic combined from the 2030 French Alps Winter Games, ending the Olympic run of a discipline that had featured in every edition since the inaugural winter cycle in 1924.

It retained snowboard's parallel giant slalom following significant improvements in popularity indicators since Beijing 2022, and also expanded the programme by adding freeride events for skiing and snowboarding, alongside synchro9, a new figure skating team event.

The decision to cut Nordic combined, as part of a refreshment of the disciplines in the Games to make them more attractive to a younger audience, delivers a fatal blow to the combination of ski jumping and cross-country skiing.

It had been fighting for survival since 2022, when Olympic chiefs rejected the addition of a women’s event for the 2026 Milano Cortina Games, citing a lack of global universality and a narrow base of competitive nations.

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"Across most of the popularity indicators, Nordic combined ranked lowest among all Olympic Winter Games disciplines at Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018, Beijing 2022 and Milano Cortina 2026," the IOC said in a statement.

"At the most recent Olympic Winter Games, it was the lowest-ranked discipline in 11 of the 14 popularity indicators assessed. In addition, the discipline continues to face challenges in terms of universality and participation at the Olympic Games," it said.

FIS President Alexander Ospelt said after the IOC announcement: “Our first reaction is, inevitably, one of disappointment."

Finland's Ilkka Herola, who took a silver and a bronze in Milano Cortina, said: "This is an incredibly difficult day for our sport ... We respect the decision, but we