Colorado's U.S. Senators are urging the International Olympic Committee to keep the Nordic Combined event in future winter games and include women.
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Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper sent a letter to the IOC after reports that the Olympic body was considering removing Nordic Combined, which includes ski jumping and cross-country skiing. They defended its rich history in winter sports — especially here in Colorado.
“Nordic Combined has been part of the Winter Olympics since the first Games in 1924," the senators wrote in the letter. "Jumps were built across our state, including at Steamboat Springs’ Howelsen Hill, the oldest continuously operating ski area in North America."
Advocates for the sport have long been fighting to add women to the Olympics. In 2022, they were hopeful it would happen for the current Winter Games in Milan Cortina. But the International Olympic Committee said no due to low viewership and lack of diverse countries on the podium — even though the games were marketed as the most gender-equal in history.
But it's a big deal in Steamboat Springs. Currently, more than 360 kids on average train at Howelsen Hill across all disciplines every weeknight, according to officials from the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. It’s one of only 30 ski clubs in the United States, and it’s the only one in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region.
Coloradans Alexa Brabec and Annika Malacinski have the talent to medal in Women's Nordic Combined for Team USA. But Nordic Combined is the ONLY Winter Olympic sport that excludes women.
— Michael Bennet (@SenatorBennet) February 13, 2026
Today, I urged the International Olympic Committee to finally allow women to compete in…
Stephanie Wilson is a board member of Nordic Combined USA, and she's the mom of a female Nordic Combined athlete. She said this letter has created a level of excitement among the athletes.
"I think they're just really surprised and pleased and probably validated to hear (it)," Wilson said. "Having it be spoken about at a level that is outside of the sports circle really shows that this is bigger than just one sport. This is about legacy. It's about equality."
Several athletes from Steamboat Springs are in the top Nordic Combined rankings for women in the world. Alexa Brabec, Annika Malacinski, and Tara Geraghty-Moats rank 2nd, 10th, and 11th internationally, respectively.
It has been mandatory to add women to every Olympic sport since the 1990s, but any sport added before then can exclude them. Colorado's senators point out that these athletes have had to watch from the sidelines while the men compete. They argue women's Nordic Combined deserves a place in the Olympics.
The committee is expected to make a decision on keeping the sport and potentially adding women to the sport this summer. But Wilson said there are conversations happening about the sport leading up to the decision.
She thinks people can support the sport's future by talking about it on social media and watching the competitions.
"The more conversations that are happening around Nordic combined, and the more people are talking about this, whether it be on social platforms or in the news or getting people together to watch the events, it all has an impact," Wilson said.
Bennet and Hickenlooper are not the only ones to do this. Senators in Vermont introduced a bill that asks for gender equality in Nordic Combined and that the IOC only introduce new Olympic sports that practice that equality.
