The fear of the removal of combined from the selection of sports at the Olympics has prompted the International Ski Federation (FIS) to act. There are many opinions on whether the changes have been good and in the right direction.
One such change was seen at the weekend at the opening of the Ruka World Cup, when FIS returned the joint start to the race selection after a break of more than ten years; the competition, where first you skied as a joint start and then you jumped the hill section.
The format of the competition got a complete shock from at least the top athletes in Finland. Neither is Finland’s head coach Antti Kuisma not enthusiastic about the new old reform.
– This type of competition can work well at some point, but when it’s the first race weekend and the last race, everyone starts to have their lunch. Nobody wants to take risks and try to take advantage, Kuisma stated.
Read also: The men of the combined considered the new competition format “a terrible joke – for the best Finn of the day, slowing down on the track suited
The reason why FIS wanted to revive the competition format is Urheilu’s expert Petter Kukkonen included in that it is part of the rescue package for the species.
– We want to maintain or increase the combined vitality. We want more countries, visibility and women involved. That there would be a few new things, and maybe competitions suitable for new types of sports, Kukkonen said.
The athletes protested against the IOC’s decision
The biggest threat to the combined Olympic status has been equality, as the sport is the only one in the Winter Games where women do not compete. However, it’s not that women or the International Ski Federation didn’t want women to participate, but women’s international competitions didn’t start until 2015.
The level of women’s combined has risen at a rapid pace, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided at its summer meeting that it will not include women in the next Olympic Games held in Italy. The IOC justified this, among other things, by the fact that the first women’s World Championships were held in 2021, 10 countries participated and one country, Norway, took all the medals.
The athletes have protested against the decision, and even in Ruka, the athletes who participated in the joint start race showed their support for the women by raising their poles in a cross above their heads before the start.
The x-mark of the protest got its start in November, when the Norwegian women wrote the words “no eXeption” (Finnish: no exception) in the snow and raised their poles at the opening of the competition season. One of the top athletes in the sport Gyda Westvold Hansen had also drawn a beard on his face.
– These are big things. Equality is important and the fact that women can participate in the Olympics. If they don’t make it, it could mean that soon men won’t make it either, Antti Kuisma said.
The IOC has demanded changes from the association also on the men’s side, in order to make the sport more interesting. The sport is strong in Europe, but interest is less elsewhere. The combined 27 medals in the three previous Olympics have been shared between only four countries, and the sport has attracted the least attention of the public at these Olympics.
In Petter Kukkonen’s opinion, one can ask whether the level of women is still sufficient for the Olympics, but on the other hand, FIS now has four years to raise the level and interest of the sport.
FIS Combined Competition Director Lasse Ottesen assures that the association takes the situation seriously and is not afraid for Olympic status.
– We know that IOC follows combined and the sport needs to develop. We have a good plan and strong support from the national associations. We invest in the combined development of women, Ottesen assured.
– National Ski Associations develop women’s activities. We need their work and support so that the women’s team can be seen at the Olympic Games in 2030.
Kukkonen: The small countries are blind because of the aggressive policies of the big countries
However, FIS’s activities do not get a clean slate from Kuisma or Kukko, because in their opinion the situation is already too late.
– These have been talked about for a really long time, 10–15 years about exactly the same type of things. It’s a shame that FIS reacts so late, Kukkonen said.
– This has been the policy of a few big countries, very aggressively and quite jealously, Vaalimaa in FIS. They have stuck to their own interests and the small countries have become blind.
In addition to the new forms of competition, the combined will experience quite a big change for the upcoming Olympics, when the number of athletes will be reduced to 36. (you switch to another service)
– Out of these 36, each country can only bring two athletes. We are trying to increase the attractiveness of more countries, i.e. 18 countries would be included in the Olympics. Kukkonen told.
– Again, it’s hard to see if it’s good for this sport or not, because it drops a huge number of really hard athletes and breaks the tradition. A group of competitors will immediately be excluded from the games, Kukkonen said.
At the Beijing Olympics, 10 countries participated in the team competition and 18 countries participated in the individual competitions, one of which is the Russian Olympic team.
Kuisma reminded that the IOC’s metrics are in global visibility. It means that the sport should be seen more in Asia and the United States.
In the Milan-Cortina Games, in addition to two individual races, there is also a team competition. However, according to Kuisma, such a qualification lowers the value of the Olympics in the minds and goals of the athletes.
– Everyone knows that if only two athletes make it to the Olympics, then there must be goals somewhere else as well.