Tokyo, Japan, July 21, 2021: The 138th IOC Session on Tuesday, July 20 unanimously approved the inclusion of ski mountaineering, governed by the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF), as an additional sport for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
The inclusion of ski mountaineering will consist of:
*Five new medal events: two men’s events (sprint/individual), two women’s events (sprint/individual) and one mixed-gender relay
*An athlete quota of 48 (24 men/24 women) falling within the overall quota framework of 2,900.
These five proposed events will follow the principles set for all other events on the programme, including the implementation of a full venue-sharing model with no additional or standalone Games venue for ski mountaineering.
This framework reiterates key considerations around athlete quotas and the venue master plan in view of reducing the cost and complexity of hosting the Olympic Games in a post-pandemic context.
Ski mountaineering is a particularly popular sport in Italy, with deep historical and sporting roots across the Alpine regions. Ski mountaineering is also a fast-growing winter sport among amateur/weekend practitioners.