No More Nordic Combined

In 2005, the IOC removed baseball and softball from the Summer Olympics, effective with the 2012 Games in London.  In 2013, they attempted to remove wrestling from the Olympic program, a move that was met with such negative backlash it never actually took effect.  Wrestling was voted back in at the next IOC meeting a few months later, retaining its place in the Olympics.  Because of the smaller scale, Winter Olympic sports by and large haven't had to worry about suffering the same fate.  Until now.  The program for the 2030 Games has been released and, for the first time, it doesn't include Nordic combined.

The writing had been on the wall for Nordic combined for a while.  It was a topic of conversation throughout the competition during this year's Olympics, which turned out to be the sport's last (at least for now).  As it turns out, the fears about Nordic combined's Olympic future were justified.  After 102 years as an Olympic event, Nordic combined has been dropped from the program, with the chance to return in 2034.  Which, right now, doesn't seem likely.

You can't help but feel for those Nordic combined athletes, too.  While there was a cloud hanging over the sport's head, they competed in Cortina without knowing that this was it.  At least for now.  They had no idea that there would be no 2030 for them.  They won't get another chance in four years.  They may not get another chance at an Olympic medal period.  At least not in Nordic combined. 

Multiple reasons were cited for the IOC's decision.  One is that Nordic combined was judged to be the least popular Winter Olympic sport in 11 of 14 metrics across the last several Games.  Another is concerns about universality.  The same five nations (Norway, Finland, Austria, Germany and Japan) have won every Nordic combined medal at the past four Winter Olympics.  The last country outside of those five to win a medal was the United States in 2010, including a gold by Bill DeMong.

Most significantly, and the thing that held Nordic combined back the most, is the fact that it's the only sport in either the Summer or Winter Olympics that's exclusive to men.  A women's Nordic combined event was proposed for both the 2022 and 2026 Winter Games, but was rejected each time.  World Championships in women's Nordic combined have only been held since 2021, which was the same year the World Cup series debuted.  With the same nations winning medals as on the men's side.  So, it did nothing to solve the universality problem.

Critics of the decision were quick to point out that irony.  Nordic combined was eliminated, in part, because it's a "male-only" sport.  Yet there is a women's event, which has sought Olympic inclusion in the past and was denied.  Instead of adding that women's event, however, they decided to drop the sport altogether in the name of "gender equity."

With wrestling, the IOC realized its mistake right away and took the steps to correct it.  Wresting ended up not missing a single Olympics.  Even baseball and softball have returned, albeit not as regular fixtures.  For Nordic combined, though, the road back to the Olympics might not be so easy.  Because the reasons why it was dropped are beyond just gender equity concerns.  And it will be very hard for Nordic combined to address those issues without official Olympic status (and the funding that goes with it).  So, while not impossible, it doesn't seem likely that we'll Nordic combined returning to the Olympics anytime soon.

Especially when you look at the other sports and events that were added to the Alps 2030 program.  Ski mountaineering, which debuted in Milan Cortina, will not only return, it will be expanded from three events to five with a men's and women's individual race joining the two sprints and mixed team relay.  Also added was freeride, which sees competitors going down a course that has a start gate, a finish line, and that's it.  How they get down is up to them, with judges determining the winner based on elements such as line choice, technique, control and style.  There will be men's and women's events in both skiing and snowboarding.

Freeride has two distinct attributes that Nordic combined lacks.  Universality and popularity.  Multiple different countries (and beyond just the traditional winter sports powers) win medals.  It also draws crowds and TV ratings.  It's a far more spectator- and TV-friendly discipline.  Just as importantly, it's more appealing to youth (a key IOC demographic) than the combination of ski jumping and cross country skiing.

That universality issue I think could be the biggest thing standing in Nordic combined's way when it comes to any possible Olympic readmission in the future.  The sport will remain popular in the areas where it traditionally has been.  But the likelihood of it extending beyond that European base seems slim.  Especially now that the carat of winning an Olympic medal is now off the table.  If anything, Nordic combined could end up becoming more regionalized, dominated even more by the same handful of nations.  What seems more likely, though, is that the best Nordic combined athletes will pick one or the other.  They'll specialize in either skiing or ski jumping, knowing that's their only path to the Olympics.  Which will thin out the herd even more.

This should also serve as a warning sign for a Summer sport whose Olympic status is just as perilous.  I'm, of course, talking about modern pentathlon, a sport that hasn't been very "modern" in quite some time.  Modern pentathlon has been able to maintain its place on the Olympic program despite consistently ranking at or towards the bottom in many of those same metrics that doomed Nordic combined.  And that doesn't even include the other issues plaguing the sport, which ultimately led to horse riding being replaced by an obstacle race.

Modern pentathlon will be contested at LA28.  The program for Brisbane 2032 still hasn't been finalized, however.  And IOC President Kirsty Coventry has already indicated that there will be fewer events in Brisbane than the record 353 being planned for 2028.  She also made it clear that the entire program will be reviewed and no sport, event or discipline is safe.  That, and what just happened with Nordic combined are clear warning signs that should make all those involved with modern pentathlon very worried about its Olympic future.

Dropping Nordic combined makes it all very real.  It's not just an idle threat.  Sports need to meet certain metrics and have enough appeal to warrant a place in the Olympics.  And being considered an "Olympic sport" is something that shouldn't be taken for granted.  That message has been made very clear.

Yet, at the same time, Nordic combined was doomed by the thing that made it unique.  In a world where gender equity is so important, Nordic combined remained the sole providence of men.  Women's events were added way too late in the game, and never to the point where the level of women's competition was Olympic-caliber.  And, the fact that it was one of the 16 events contested at the first Winter Olympics did nothing to help its cause.  If anything, it may have hurt.  Nordic combined may have been relying too much on that tradition and history.

Or maybe this will serve as an impetus for change.  Modern pentathlon, knowing its Olympic future is at stake, replaced riding with the obstacle course.  Wrestling made a slew of reforms during the few months between being dropped, then not dropped.  Even baseball and softball combined into a single international federation that administers both sports. 

So, this may not be the end for Nordic combined.  As of now, the decision only applies to the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps.  When it comes time to finalize the program for Utah 2034, the IOC might be impressed enough with the progress Nordic combined has made and reinstate it.  Or, since Olympic organizers are allowed to propose sports for their specific Games, we could very well see a one-off return should the Winter Olympics be held in Norway or Austria or even Germany.  What we do know, however, is that there will be no Nordic combined in France.