Nordic combined, a sport that merges ski jumping and cross-country skiing, has a storied history in the Winter Olympics. However, it remains the only Winter Olympic discipline without a women’s event, a disparity that has sparked significant debate and advocacy within the sporting community.In June 2022, the International Olympic Committee announced that women’s Nordic combined would not be included in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The committee cited concerns over low audience numbers and limited global participation, noting that only four countries had secured the last 27 medals in the men’s events. Following this decision, sports photographers Theresa Schimpfössl and Flawia Krawczyk started their website, Nocogirls.com, to promote and support female athletes in the sport. The sports photographers provide their images to women in Nordic combined without charge to help support and engage the sport’s audiences. Credit: Courtesy of NocogirlsNocogirls provide images and content to female Nordic combined athletes to use freely on their own platforms to increase engagement and awareness of the sport. “It was unexpected,” said Schimpfössl of the 2022 decision. “Everyone had felt certain that they would take the girls in.” Schimpfössl said the decision was devastating, and made worse by the announcement’s delivery. “It was not even announced. It was just a footnote on one of the presentations. I was waiting the whole time to hear them say something, and they never did. Finally it was written on a slide — no quota for women. It was like someone took a hammer and hit me in the head,” said Schimpfössl. “I didn’t want to believe that we still live in a world where it can happen that you have a sport where men are allowed to compete at the Olympics and women are not,” said Krawczyk. “That hit me, and that still hits me.” Krawczyk and Schimpfössl knew they could use their work to try to change the decision for the sake of the female athletes they had been following for years, they said. Annika Malacinski competes in Oberstdorf. Malacinski joined the U.S. Nordic combined team just two years after going off her first ski jump. Credit: Courtesy of NocogirlsAnnika Malacinski is the top ranking woman on the U.S. Nordic combined team. She joined the national team in 2019, having jumped off her very first ski jump only two years prior. As a young female athlete determined to take her career as far as possible, the committee’s 2022 decision fell hard, she said. “When I started Nordic combined, it was a very new sport for women. I got to experience the first-ever World Cup, the first-ever World Championships. It felt like a no-brainer that we’d be in the Olympics,” said Malacinski. “After that, I had to find the true meaning of why I’m doing this. It’s not just for the Olympics. I do this because I love the sport, the journey, and the community. But I also want to fight for what’s right, and that is to let us compete at the 2026 Olympics.” Malacinski was a gymnast from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, for the first half of her life. Following an injury that prevented her from competing, Malacinski found inspiration in her younger brother, Niklas, and Nordic combined.The International Olympic Committee’s decision in 2022 also cast uncertainty over the future of men’s Nordic combined beyond 2026, indicating that its inclusion in the 2030 Winter Olympics would depend on increased participation and audience engagement. “It’s an incredibly niche sport,” said Malacinksi. “It’s really hard because Americans watch football, baseball, hockey, basketball, all of these mainstream sports. It is then extremely hard to find people that want to support something when they don’t even know what it is, and then also because women are left out of the Olympics.” Malacinski and Slovenian athlete Silva Verbic at the Summer Grand Prix in Oberwiesenthal. Credit: Courtesy of NocogirlsWhile folks across Europe are very familiar with Nordic combined and the separate disciplines, it is difficult to feel misunderstood and underrepresented in the United States, said Malacinksi. In this country, there are only four major ski jumping venues: Anchorage, Alaksa; Lake Placid, New York; Steamboat Springs, Colorado; and Park City.Malacinski said she was incredibly fortunate to have grown up in Steamboat Springs, where there is such a great legacy and available resources for Nordic combined athletes. “It’s definitely a bummer that most people don’t even know what I’m competing in, and I’m competing at the highest level,” she said. Having grown up training alongside her brother, Malacinski said she is very aware of the differences between the opportunities available to men and women. “My brother and I train the same amount, we have the same coaches, we have the same resources.” she said. “The only difference is that he has the opportunity to sell himself as this young, promising athlete that is working for the Olympics. And I can say the same, but I just can’t say that I’m working towards the Olympics because that’s not even an opportunity that I can pursue.” The fallout from the decision in the 2026 Olympics went beyond crushing athletes’ spirits, said Schimpfössl. It also moved many federations to cut funding to women’s programs because they were not deemed Olympic sports. The Nocogirls and Malacinski view this decision as a failure on the part of the committee because by not including women in the Nordic combined discipline, they are not opening the door for future engagement. “They’re telling us that they want us to grow it even more. But then again, they won’t let it be in the Olympics. So who’s going to want to start it?” said Malacinski. “It’s as if they tied our feet and hands together, threw us off board and told us to swim.” Park City stands as a hub for Nordic combined and ski jumping athletes around the world who are fighting to increase engagement and awareness of the sport across genders, although the team currently has no female team members from Park City. As the Olympic committee continues to discuss the gender inequity of the Nordic combined sport, the men may not continue to be included in the future, either.Advocates for women’s and men’s Nordic combined continue to campaign for equal representation, emphasizing the growing participation and competitive achievements of athletes worldwide. “It’s 2024,” said Malacinski. “It’s time to let us compete.” In addition to their donated time and content, the founders of Nocogirls are raising funds for the sport here.The post The women of Nordic combined fight for their place on the Olympic stage appeared first on Park Record.