The thunderous cloud of the International Olympic Committee continues to loom over the dreams of Nordic combined athletes around the globe. 

In 2022, the IOC announced it would not include women’s Nordic combined in the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympic Games, sending shock waves throughout the sport. The IOC doubled down by saying the future of the men’s sport would remain in question looking ahead to the 2030 Games. 

Men’s Nordic combined is currently the only winter sport in the games without a women’s equal. The IOC could face political backlash for this, and instead of bringing in the women’s sport, it could shut down both programs entirely at the Olympic level. 

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Many in the Nordic combined community congregated via video chat on Tuesday to discuss the struggles of the sport and what role USA Nordic Sport can play in reviving its popularity and keeping it relevant in the Olympic future. The discussion — which is the beginning of an initiative called Pathways for Success — was led by Jill Brabec, a mother of two local Nordic combined athletes, one of which competes for the U.S. National Team. 

Early in the conversation, USANS Sports Director Anders Johnson explained what the IOC is looking for to begin considering a Nordic combined resurgence in the Games. 

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“They gave FIS (The International Ski Federation) quite a few check marks or boxes they needed to check that the IOC was looking at,” Johnson said. “One was in (the development level), how many nations were performing at a high level or fighting for podiums at Junior World Championships but also Youth Olympic Games. They were also looking at how many nations are performing at the World Cup level. Not just participating but scoring World Cup points … Also, from a bigger perspective, looking at TV viewership and popularity and those types of metrics.”

Johnson later added that the IOC has been more positive about the number of nations fighting for podiums at the development level. In recent history, only Norway, Austria, Germany and Finland performed to that standard, but this season alone that number doubled to eight nations, including American athletes who found the podium. 

“The main update from FIS is they are quite pleased with the trajectory of the way Nordic combined is going from a development level, but the next step is implementing that at World Cup because there are still a few nations that are dominating across the board in Nordic combined,” Johnson continued. “They are looking at how other nations can develop and build into the podiums at FIS-level events.” 

While the U.S. was unable to reach a podium this season in a Nordic combined World Cup event, a lot of its athletes managed personal-best results. Steamboat’s Alexa Brabec finished as high as 10th this season in Austria, while Annika Malacinski placed eighth for her career best at an earlier Austrian event this season. Niklas Malacinski and Grant Andrews, also athletes from Steamboat Springs, closed this season with personal bests of 14th and 32nd respectively. 

“We view the programs as being successful, but what happened since about COVID time is we lost a lot of revenues that were coming into the sport, whether it was donors or sponsors that cut way back,” USANS Board of Directors Chairman Tom Bickner said. “That has put an extreme financial strain on the organization and we had to cut back a lot of what we did and cut back a lot of staff.” 

With major issues of declining popularity at a national and international scale, lower funding and sponsorships than in years past and the disapproval of the IOC, USANS members offered an outline for their future plans. 

Jill Brabec presented five keys to keep the sport afloat. The first was increasing marketing and communications. As an example, she referenced Annika Malacinski, who has garnered a following on social media sites to help share her experiences as an elite winter sports athlete. 

The second key is focusing on sponsorship and donor relationships while identifying fundraising opportunities to maintain a more consistent revenue stream. There was also emphasis on teaming up with other top nations in Nordic combined to improve international engagement and create a united front. 

The fourth key involved bringing a Nordic combined World Cup event to the U.S., and Lake Placid was specifically targeted as a primary location option. The fifth key was simply advocating for the sport and sharing it with the rest of the world. 

Brabec estimates an IOC decision on Nordic combined in the 2030 Olympics will be made in the summer of 2026. The committee is looking to reduce to 3,000 athletes competing at the Games and has focused on Nordic combined as one way to begin the reduction. Much could hinge on the sport’s viewership at the 2026 Games. 

“That is a pretty short window, all things considered,” Brabec said. “That is where a lot of the urgency is coming from.” 

Those who wish to donate to the USANS Nordic combined program can do so through the “Donate” tab at USANordic.org. 

Billy Demong, 2010 Vancouver Olympic gold medalist, shared a lot of the concerns for his beloved sport. He sees the path to its revitalization, but said the question remains: is it too late?

“There’s a couple different pathways to success,” Demong said. “One is doing everything we can to support the National team to success, and I think the Norwegian program (partnership) is a short-term accelerator for the National team athletes that are already mature enough to take advantage of it. You can see some better results this year across the board for Nordic combined and ski jumping, so that is a positive step in the right direction … Finally, I think it is making sure we are continuing to support the programs and athletes in this country, no matter their age, that this is a great sport. A lot of our men’s and women’s National team athletes in ski jumping came from Nordic combined … it’s the ultimate ski discipline.”