A look at how gender equality is changing the Olympics

Event evolution

When women competed at the first Winter Games in 1924, they made up 4.3% of competitors, this year they are at 47%.

Women accounted for 45% of all competitors at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, up from 41% at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games in South Korea.

Not just the games

Women currently make up 45% of the Milano Cortina 2026 senior leadership and 55% of the volunteer applications were from women.

In 1992, an International Olympic Committee rule requires new sports to include women.

There will be 2,916 athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics, up from 2,834 in 2022. The U.S. will have the largest presence with 235 athletes.

 

New events

Ski mountaineering (men and women)Luge – Women’s doublesSki jumping – women’s large hillSkeleton – mixed team relay (men and women)Freestyle skiing – men’s and women’s dual mogulsAlpine skiing – team combined (men and women)

Nordic Combined USA and Nordic Combined News have a joint campaign urging the International Olympic Committee to include women’s Nordic Combined in the 2030 Winter Games while maintaining the men’s event that has been part of the Games since 1924.

In 2022, the IOC rejected women’s Nordic Combined for the 2026 Games, citing concerns about the sport’s readiness. Since then, women athletes have systematically responded to and resolved each of those concerns:

Events expanded: World Cup events nearly doubled from nine in the 2021-22 season to 17 in 2025-26Viewership increased: Women’s Nordic Combined viewership grew 25% in the 2024-25 seasonGlobal participation: 12 nations competed at the 2025 World Championships in front of an estimated 20,000 fansCompetitive depth: Four different nations claimed the top four spots at the 2025 Worlds (Japan, Austria, Norway, USA), and three US women finished in the top 10 at the January 2026 World Cup in Otepää, Estonia.

“The women have done everything asked of them and more,” said Jill Brabec, Board President of Nordic Combined USA. “They’ve met every benchmark set in 2022. Nordic Combined is the last Winter Olympic sport where women cannot compete. The IOC has committed to gender equality and now it’s time to deliver on that promise.”

Learn more at nordiccombinedusa.org

Sources: International Olympic Committee, The Associated Press, The Canadian Press, CBS News Photos from The Associated Press