From Ski-Mo to Mixed Relays: The Evolution of the Winter Olympics

The last time a new sport was added to the Winter Olympics was nearly a quarter of a century ago. This year’s games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo have introduced an entirely new discipline but also expanded seven existing ones.

Key Sports Stats for The Milan Olympics 

In 2002, skeleton debuted in Salt Lake City, following the addition of snowboarding in 1998 in Nagano. This year, ski-mo – short for ski mountaineering – joined the Olympic roster, bringing the total number of disciplines to sixteen. Nearly 3,000 athletes will compete in over a hundred medal events, with a record-breaking gender split including 47 per cent women. 

Ski-Mountaineering Enters the Olympic Stage

The world’s top ski mountaineers, or ski-moers, will compete on the Olympic stage for the first time, taking part in the men’s and women’s sprint events as well as the mixed relay. 

The discipline originates from a form of skiing long practiced in Alpine terrain around the world, in which no ski lifts are used. Parts of the ascent are completed in crampons and parts on skis. Synthetic climbing skins—so named because their earliest historical versions were made from seal skin—are attached to the bases of the skis to provide grip for climbing, then removed before the descent.

While French and Spanish ski mountaineers are the main medal contenders, the US’s own nineteen-year-old Griffin Briley has a good chance of fighting for a place in the finals.

Alpine Skiing Changes at the Winter Olympics 2026

A team combined Alpine skiing event will debut on the Olympic stage, replacing the team parallel and individual combined races and bringing the total number of alpine skiing medals from 11 to 10. With Mikaela Shiffrin and Breezy Johnson snatching team combined gold at the 2025 World Championships in Saalbach, Team USA is one to watch in this event.

More Gender Equality in Cross-Country Skiing and Ski Jumping

For the first time in history, cross-country skiers will compete over the same distances regardless of gender. Twelve medals will be available in races ranging from 7.5 to 50 kilometers.

Women’s ski jumping will debut in a large hill event, matching both the normal and large hill men’s events, but only men will compete in the new superteam event.

In luge, women’s doubles were added to the roster, bringing long-awaited parity to the discipline.

Additional Events at the Winter Olympics 2026

A dual mogul event is added to the regular mogul singles in freestyle skiing with two skiers competing against each other in a simultaneous race.

In skeleton, the new mixed team relay pairs a female and a male skater, and after winning World Championship gold in 2025, Team USA’s Mystique Ro and Austin Florian are early favorites.