Democratic senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic governing body, to continue to include Nordic combined in future winter Games and to allow women to participate.
Nordic combined has been part of the Winter Olympics since the first Games in 1924, but women have never been able to compete in the event that merges ski jumping and cross country skiing.
More than 100 years later, the 2026 Olympics is being dubbed the most equal Games when it comes to gender parity, even though women remain excluded from Nordic combined.
Colorado natives, Alexa Brabec and Annika Malacinski, have been fighting to include women in the event but this year, they are sitting on the sidelines.
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…
In their letter, Bennet and Hickenlooper said, “Women’s Nordic Combined deserves a place in the Olympics, and expanding that opportunity for these athletes is the right choice over eliminating tradition. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss how we might work together to achieve this important goal.”
The IOC has not yet responded to the letter.
Meanwhile, Nordic combined athlete and Vermont native Tara Geraghty-Moa persuaded her state legislature to advance a joint resolution to support women’s competition at the Games last week. The resolution passed the Senate and is being read on the House floor.
