Nordic combined has been part of every Winter Games program since 1924, but it’s facing existential questions stemming from participation numbers and gender equity.

New to Nordic combined? Get the essentials on the only Olympic sport that merges ski jumping and cross‑country skiing — events, how points and time gaps are calculated, and what to watch for at Milan Cortina 2026.

Female athletes competing in Nordic combined plan to stage a protest Friday over the lack of a women's event at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.

At 16, Annika Malacinski discovered Nordic Combined — a grueling mix of ski jumping and cross-country skiing

By Philip O'Connor STOCKHOLM, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The world's best female Nordic combined athletes will stage a protest about their exclusion from the Winter Olympics at their final competition ahead of the 2026 Games in Milano Cortina,

Nordic combined in the Olympics isn’t as simple as a debate over the inclusion of a gender. The sport could be cut from the program all together.

Annika Malacinski remembers the moment the door to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics was slammed shut. On a flight from Munich to Denver, she bought airplane Wi-Fi to join a conference call with the International Olympic Committee,

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.

The 2026 Winter Olympics will span northern Italy across multiple regions, making them the most geographically widespread Games ever.