Ski alpinism combines climbing a hill (partly with skis on the feet, partly on the back) and downhill skiing.
In their competitions in Bormio, the Olympians first climb about a hundred meters up the slope, after which they go down it between the goals to the finish line.
Under the five rings, the absolute best will be presented, as men and women only had 18 places available.
Ski alpinists will compete individually in sprints and together in a mixed relay.
Sprints take place similarly to cross-country skiing – after individual qualification, they compete in joint heats until the final. In the mixed relay, a man and a woman take turns, each completing the track twice.
And while the Olympic gate remained closed to the Czechs, the Slovaks will have a pair of Marianna Jagerčíková and Jakub Šiarnik in ski mountaineering.
In particular, Jagerčíková, a former world champion, is considered in Slovakia to be one of the biggest medal hopes of the entire expedition, even though she herself does not see herself that way.
“It will be a great honor and the highlight of my career, but I will go to the Olympics as an outsider,” said Jagerčíková in an interview with the Slovak website Pravda.
“The competitors are very strong and have been preparing for the Olympics longer than me. My place was only confirmed in December. But of course I will try to do my best,” she added.
The 40-year-old ski alpinist has two silvers in the sprint from the World Championships and also a gold from 2023. At that time, she became only the fourth Slovak representative to win the WC in an individual winter sport, after figure skater Ondrej Nepel, biathlete Anastasia Kuzminová and skier Petra Vlhová.
All three mentioned athletes also won Olympic gold.
The native from the foothills of the Low Tatras stood on skis for the first time when she was not even two years old. She started ski mountaineering at the age of 15.
“At first I did it on a recreational level with family and friends. I was an adventurer, I also looked for slopes of a steeper nature. It wasn’t until I was 32 that I tried ski mountaineering competitively, so my eight-year career is not that long,” Jagerčíková described in an interview for Pravda.
In addition to falls, ski alpinists are often at risk of avalanches. They move around in areas without mobile signal, so they have to be even more careful. However, Olympic ski mountaineering will be different after all.
“Our sport has its risks, but you have to be more careful during training. During competitions, we often compete on slopes where there is no such danger,” said the Slovakian, who previously also practiced mountain climbing.
After graduating from secondary school, she left Slovakia for France, from where she returns to her native country only once or twice a year.
“However, Slovakia figures in my plans for the future. I studied geology and in Slovakia I want to devote myself to things of a scientific nature – it is cave research,” revealed Jagerčíková.
As a recent world champion, she is currently a professional athlete, one of the few in her discipline. In addition, she works as a mountain guide in her free time.
“Ski mountaineering is still a young sport and there is not much money in it. But even by making it to the Olympics, more competitors could become professionals,” she explained.
What competitive ski mountaineering looks like:
