STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — The Olympics have made strides toward gender equality, with more mixed team events and the addition of women's monobob, but there's still one sport women still can't take part in.
At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the only athletes competing in Nordic combined – which combines ski jumping and cross-country skiing – are men.
"It's kind of a touchy topic for some," said Annika Malacinski, a skier from Steamboat Springs who's on the Women's U.S. National Nordic Combined Team. "Women's Nordic combined has progressed through the years. We just had our first World Cup last year."
The U.S. women's team is made up completely of Colorado athletes: Malacinski, Tess Arnone and Alexa Brabec are all from Steamboat Springs. They placed sixth in the 2022 World Cup team normal hill competition in Italy.
The team trains in the Adirondack Mountains near Lake Placid, New York, where the 1980 Olympics were held.
"This is our career," Malacinski said. "This is our life at the moment."
Nordic Combined competition starts with ski jumping. Later on the same day, the 5 km (3.1 mi) or 10 km (6.21 mi) cross-country races take place. The winner of the ski jumping competition starts at 00:00:00, and all other athletes start with time disadvantages according to their jumping score. The first to cross the finish line is the winner.
There was some buzz a few years ago about women's Nordic combined being included as a sport in Beijing. When it didn't happen, the U.S. team set their sights on the 2026 Games in Milano, Italy.
"If you would have asked four years ago why it's not in the Olympics, it's because 'It's not progressed enough, not enough girls are doing it,' but right now it's the opposite," Malacinski said.
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