The 2026 Winter Olympics are in full swing. Earlier today, athletes from around the world competed in Nordic Combined—well, male athletes, that is. Nordic Combined is the only sport in this year’s Olympic Games without a women’s competition.
The Nordic Combined competition has two parts: cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The sport has been included in the Olympic lineup since the first Winter Games back in 1924.
Originally, women’s Nordic Combined was scheduled to make its Olympic debut back in 2022 at the Beijing Games, but the IOC (International Olympic Committee) made the decision to cancel it in 2018. The reasoning given was a predicted lack of participating nations, limited podium diversity, and low public viewership.
The 2025 Women’s Nordic Combined World Cup had 46 athletes compete from 11 different countries. Yes, that is a small number when compared to the total number of countries competing at the Olympic Games altogether, but the Men’s Nordic Combined competition had 15 countries represented this year, only 4 more than the women’s.
The dwindling number of female Nordic Combined athletes and the lack of representation at the Olympics are directly connected. The Olympic Games give sports a chance to shine on the world stage. This can inspire others, especially younger athletes, to consider joining the sport. I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t know about the sport if it weren’t for the Olympics, and I am sure I’m not alone in that.
The idea that there won’t be enough female athletes to compete in a women’s event for this sport is ridiculous. In the separate women’s cross-country skiing and ski jumping events, 26 and 15 countries are represented, respectively. The possibility of some of these athletes combining the two if given the opportunity isn’t out of the question.
Team USA is represented at this year’s Winter Olympic Nordic Combined competition by 2 athletes; one of them is Niklas Malacinski. Like many athletes from around the world, his family is at the games to cheer him on. But his sister, Annika Malacinski, is also there to spread awareness about the lack of a women’s event at the Olympics.
When discussing the reality of these Winter Olympic Games, Malacinski said, “It’s bittersweet. I know how hard [Niklas] works, and he absolutely deserves it. [But] I do the same sport as him. I jump the same ski jumps and ski the same courses. The only difference is that I’m a woman.”
The IOC has announced that it may decide to remove Nordic Combined as a Winter Olympic sport altogether, as participation and viewership decrease, despite many female athletes like Annika Malacinski wanting to compete at the Olympics. According to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), which hosts the Women’s Nordic Combined World Cup, the number of women competing has been steadily increasing since the first competition in 2020. Maybe what is needed to save this sport is opening up the Olympic stage to women. It is at least worth a shot.
