Nordic combined faces Olympic crossroads as women remain excluded

Jan 29 : Nordic combined has reached a critical juncture ahead of the Milano Cortina Games, with U.S. athlete Annika Malacinski among those leading a push to draw attention to the sport’s uncertain future as women remain excluded from the Olympic programme.

When the Games open next month, Nordic combined will again feature only as a men’s event, remaining the only Winter Olympic discipline without a women’s competition.

The sport combines cross-country skiing and ski jumping into a single event, with each competition merging the two disciplines to crown one overall winner.

Women now have their own World Championships and World Cup circuit in Nordic combined, yet the discipline remains excluded from the Olympic programme.

By contrast, women’s cross-country skiing has been part of the Games since 1952, while women’s ski jumping was added in 2014.

While there had been hopes that women would be included at this year's Games, the International Olympic Committee announced in 2022 that women’s Nordic combined would not be added to the Olympic programme because it lacks universality, while warning that the men's Olympic spot is also at risk due to low interest.

The stakes are high, according to Malacinski.

“We are now in a position where the whole sport is at risk,” she said in an interview with Reuters this month. “If you cannot offer men and women equal opportunities, you also risk losing your place in the Games entirely.

“If Nordic combined does not make it to the (2030 French Alps) Olympics, then most likely every single country will cut the funding,” she added.

PROTESTS OVER EXCLUSION OF WOMEN'S EVENT  

The decision to exclude the women's competition from next month's Games was met with protests in the competitions that followed.