Olympics may drop Nordic combined

Nordiccombined,which uniquely tests skiers on jaw-dropping jumps and heart-pounding trails, has been a part of the Winter Olympics since 1924. Its time might be up. It’s the onlyolympicsportwithout women, and the International Olympic Committee is due to make a decision later this month about whether to allow women to compete in Nordic combined at the 2026 Milan-cortina d’ampezzo Games. There’s the possibility, however, that Nordic combined is dropped entirely from the Olympics, according to athletes and advocates. “What I heardloudandclearinback channelsisthatthesolution to take care of the gender equity dirty secret is to take men out of the program for 2026,” said Billy Demong, a five-time Olympian in Nordic combined and member of USA Nordic’s boardofdirectors.