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Female athletes competing in the Nordic combined event have planned a protest against their exclusion from the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
The sport, which combines ski jumping and cross-country skiing, will not have women’s competition at next month’s Winter Olympics. It will be one of the few events that will not have female participants.
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Annika Malacinski of the United States competes during the Women Individual Compact NH/5 km of the FIS World Cup Nordic Combined Seefeld on February 1, 2025 in Seefeld, Austria. (Franz Kirchmayr/SEPA.Media/Getty Images)
American athlete Annika Malacinski told Reuters that she and her competitors will hold up an “X” with their poles before beginning a race in Seefeld, Austria, to symbolize “no exception”.
“It’s so messed up that the women are excluded because we checked off everything that the IOC wanted to see, but at the end of the day what hurts is that the IOC doesn’t see the quality of adding women. We can’t go another cycle without full equality in the Olympics,” she told the outlet.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) told Reuters it recognized the problems the sport faces in terms of popularity for both men and women, including general popularity and the lack of competitiveness.
“The IOC will continue to support the International Ski Federation (FIS) in the development and promotion of Nordic Combined,” the IOC said. “For this reason, the discipline will undergo a full evaluation after the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
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Children play near the Olympic rings as snow falls ahead of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Livigno, Italy, on January 8, 2026. (REUTERS/Yara Nardi)
“On the other hand, the FIS and the Nordic Combined Society also have a responsibility to come back with a more convincing case in terms of universality, popularity and performance levels, both for men and women, to allow the IOC to make decisions for the 2030 Games and beyond.”
Nordic combined events have been for men only since 1924. Norway has taken home the most gold with 15.
Malacinski also spoke about his displeasure at the lack of representation at the Games in a video posted on TikTok.
“Honestly, it’s heartbreaking, I could cry all day about it,” she said in her video. “It feels like we’re being told that our dreams matter less. It also fuels me because it shows how important it is that we keep speaking up.”
Olympic rings are displayed in the snow at the Stelvio Ski Center, the venue for alpine skiing and ski mountaineering disciplines at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina in Bormio, Italy, January 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
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Athletes will have to wait until the 2030 Olympics to see if a women’s Nordic combined competition will be added to the program.
