Nordic combined has been part of the program since the first Winter Games in 1924 in Chamonix. The mixture of the two completely different sports of ski jumping and cross-country skiing requires daring in the air and a lot of endurance on the trails. But these attributes also apply to other livelier, younger formats that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has long since discovered for himself. Which is why things are now getting tight for the combination.
The IOC now also sees the Winter Games in competition with extreme sports events such as the X Games, which take place permanently in Aspen (USA). They attract a more action-oriented audience. The IOC also has a little of this X factor in its program at its 25th Winter Games in Milan and Cortina. There, classics such as biathlon, bobsleigh, luge and figure skating are mixed with the acrobatics of Big Air, a kind of catapult jumping with multiple somersaults and twists, mogul skiing and tricks in the halfpipe or slopestyle, an obstacle course. And there an athlete from Australia, which is not exactly considered a winter sports nation, wins the gold medal. This suits the IOC, which strives for a sports festival that is as global as possible.
