Last Call for the Last Men-Only Sport
Day 6: Nordic Combined’s Real Problem Isn’t Popularity
Nordic Combined has been part of the Winter Games since the very first edition in 1924 and now it’s on the chopping block. It combinbes, as the name suggests, cross-country skiing and ski jumping into a single event that pushes athlete mental and physical limits. The scoring system is called The Gunderson Method after creator Gunder Gunderson. It’s a niche sport.
It is also the only male-only sport in the Olympics. Perhaps this should not be surprising despite all the talk of gender parity. After all, Women’s Ski Jumping was only introduced in 2014, and the former heard of the International Ski Federation said - in 2005! - that jumping “seems not to be [medically] appropriate for ladies." So you’ll have to excuse athlete like Annika Malacinski, who trains alongside her Olympian brother Niklas, for being furious at the IOC.
To make matters worse, that same International Olympic Committee is threatening to drop Nordic Combined from the Games altogether, citing lack of participation and audience. I bet letting women compete could really help solve both those problems. I wonder why they never thought of that?
What To Watch Today
(All times Eastern. Full event replays available on-demand on Peacock)
DESCRIPTION OF TOP EVENTS.
4:30 am - Snowboarding: Women’s Halfpipe Qualification Runs 🇺🇸
5:00 am - Freestyle Skiing: Women’s Moguls Qualification 🇺🇸
5:30 am - Alpine Skiing: Men’s Super-G 🥇 🇺🇸
7:45 am - Nordic Combined: Men’s Individual Normal Hill Cross Country 🥇
8:15 am - Biathlon: Women’s 15km Individual 🥇 🇺🇸
8:15 am - Freestyle Skiing: Women’s Moguls Finals 🥇 🇺🇸
10:40 am - Ice Hockey: Men’s Prelim. Round - SVK vs FIN
11:00 am - Luge: Women’s Doubles Run 1 🇺🇸
11:51 am - Luge: Men’s Doubles Run 1 🇺🇸
12:30 pm - Speed Skating: Men’s 1000m 🥇 🇺🇸
12:53 pm - Luge: Women’s Doubles Run 2 🥇 🇺🇸
1:05 pm - Curling: Men’s Round Robin (4 matches) 🇺🇸
1:30 pm - Figure Skating: Ice Dance - Free Dance 🥇 🇺🇸
1:30 pm - Snowboarding: Men’s Halfpipe Qualification Runs 🇺🇸
1:44 pm - Luge: Men’s Doubles Run 2 🥇 🇺🇸
3:10 pm - Ice Hockey: Men’s Prelim. Round - SWE vs ITA
🥇 = Medal Event
🇺🇸 = Team USA
In Other Olympic News…
Soft ice is creating chaos in short track speed skating.
A skier decided winning a medal was a good time to admit he cheated on his girlfriend.
See how much each country pays it’s athletes for winning.
More details on Mike Tirico’s globetrotting week.
Photos of the Day
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