Talented Norwegian skier Gyda Westvold Hansen led a protest against the exclusion of Nordic combined from the women's programme at the next Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics with a drawn-on beard.
Nordic combined has been part of the Winter Olympics since 1924 but no women's event has ever been held. Nordic combined sees competitors battle it out over the cross-country and ski jumping disciplines. The results of the ski jumping event result in the time advantage competitors have going into the cross country element.
Nordic combined is the only Winter Olympic discipline where women can't compete, despite having a world championship and World Cup series.
At the season-opening cross country event in Norway this weekend home skier Hansen led a protest against its exclusion by drawing a beard on her face.
Athletes marked an 'X' and wrote "no exception" on the snow with their ski poles. Hansen went on to win the event and expressed her disgust at the discipline not being in the Winter Olympic Games.
"We think it's absurd that you have to look like this or have a beard to be allowed to compete in the Olympics," she told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. "We hope to do something about it. This is important for recruitment and girls to want to continue with the sport, which is so much fun.
"It is extremely important for the sport."
The International Olympic Committee executive board announced in June that women’s Nordic combined had been left off the programme for Milan Cortina 2026. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) also saw their application for the event to be included at Beijing 2022 rejected.
Karl Stoss, chair of the Olympic programme commission, told a press conference in June that women's Nordic combined didn't meet their criteria and only had participants from 10 countries.
The men's sport is also under threat of losing its Olympic Games status. In the 24 different Olympic Games that Nordic Combined has featured Norway have won 15 golds and 35 medals - double that of any other nation. Great Britain has only had one athlete in 1936.
“The inclusion of Nordic Combined in the Olympic Winter Games 2030 depends on a significant positive development, particularly with regard to participation and audience,” said Stoss.
“It’s very interesting for us, the European countries. But outside of Europe, you couldn’t find really athletes doing this sport."
