The Winter Olympics welcomed its newest sport this week as ski mountaineering took center stage in Bormio, Italy, marking a historic moment for Milano Cortina’s only fresh addition to the Games program.
Despite challenging weather conditions with heavy snowfall, the competition proceeded without issues and attracted enthusiastic spectators, giving competitors confidence that this debut won’t be the sport’s final Olympic appearance.
European nations demonstrated their strength in the discipline during both Thursday’s individual sprint competitions and Saturday’s team relay event, confirming their continued leadership in ski mountaineering worldwide.
Spain achieved a remarkable milestone when Oriol Cardona Coll captured his nation’s first Winter Olympic gold medal since 1972 in the men’s sprint competition on Thursday.
In the women’s sprint event, Switzerland’s Marianne Fatton upset the favored competitor Emily Harrop from France to claim victory.
Saturday’s mixed relay format featured one male and one female athlete from each country working together. Harrop, perhaps motivated by her earlier defeat, took control early alongside teammate Thibault Anselmet. The French pair maintained their advantage throughout the entire race to secure a decisive win. Switzerland’s Fatton teamed with Jon Kistler for second place, while Spain’s Cardona Coll partnered with Ana Alonso Rodriguez to earn bronze.
Team USA delivered an impressive performance as Anna Gibson and Cam Smith climbed to an unexpected fourth-place finish in the relay competition.
The newly minted Olympic medalists expressed strong hopes that their sport will continue appearing in future Games rather than becoming a one-time showcase.
Gibson reported encountering significant enthusiasm for ski mountaineering throughout her Olympic journey. When questioned about her message to officials deciding the sport’s future inclusion, she responded: “I’d say go re-watch the race. That was awesome. And also turn up the volume so you can hear the crowd cheering. I think it speaks enough for itself.”
All ski mountaineering competitions at the Games achieved complete ticket sales, demonstrating strong public interest.
Given France’s success in earning medals across every ski mountaineering event at Milano Cortina, the nation appears unlikely to exclude the sport when hosting the 2030 Winter Olympics.
USA SkiMo’s Head of Sport Sarah Cookler announced in December her intention to advocate for the sport’s presence at the 2034 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. She particularly emphasized including longer individual competitions, which many consider the core of ski mountaineering. The decision to omit these events from Milano Cortina created controversy within the sport’s community.
Olympic champion Cardona Coll remains optimistic about expansion opportunities.
“I think it will grow, this time we are doing the sprint race and mixed relay, hopefully in the next Olympic Games, it’s also going to be the individual race, which is the queen race of ski mountaineering,” he stated.
