Annika Malacinski recalls the moment she faced rejection regarding the inclusion of women in the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
During a flight from Munich to Denver, she connected to airplane Wi-Fi to participate in a conference call with the International Olympic Committee, hoping for the opening of Nordic combined competition to female athletes.
“The response was a simple ‘no.’ There was no elaboration, no room for discussion. Just a swift ‘no,’ and they swiftly moved on,” she shared with The Associated Press from her training location in Norway.
“I spent eight consecutive hours crying on that flight. By the time I landed in Denver, my eyes were swollen shut. It felt like my whole world had shattered.”
This incident occurred in June 2022. Despite continuous efforts led by Malacinski, a 24-year-old athlete from Colorado, Nordic combined remains the only Winter Games sport that excludes women, even as Milano Cortina boasts the highest female participation level in Winter Games history at 47 percent.
Excluded from Elite Competitions
Malacinski frequently achieves top-10 finishes in elite competitions of Nordic combined, a sport that combines ski jumping and cross-country skiing, requiring intense year-round training.
Her younger brother, Niklas, will be competing in the men’s event for the United States, and she plans to travel to northern Italy to support him.
“It’s a mix of emotions. I understand how much effort he puts in, and he truly deserves it,” Malacinski stated.
“We both participate in the same sport. We leap from the same ski jumps and ski the same courses. The only difference is my gender.”
Last weekend in Seefeld, Austria, female skiers demonstrated their discontent with the exclusion by lifting their poles overhead to form an X.
Men have been part of Nordic combined since its inception more than a century ago, at the 1924 Winter Games in Chamonix, France.
The future of Nordic combined in the Winter Olympics is uncertain, with talks of potential removal from the program in the next Winter Olympics in 2030. The IOC points out the sport’s struggle to attract participants from various countries and its limited television viewership.
