Combined Sport will campaign against the IOC at the starting line in Saturday’s winter opener in Beitostølen. The reason is that women will not be an Olympic discipline in 2026.
– There will be a party on Saturday. I can’t say much about it yet, a reserved Ida Marie Hagen (22) from Haslum, one of the athletes of the Norwegian national team, tells VG.
– It is a pity that we were not accepted. Combined is the only discipline at the 2026 Olympics that has no equal, she continues.
– Do you feel you have support?
– Yes, we have a lot of people behind us. So we still hope it can be redone. We have had contact with top Norwegian athletes in other sports and they support us. They are surprised when we tell them we will not participate in the Olympics, says Ida Marie Hagen.
– So we have a lot of support. Just not among those who made the decision…
The men’s combined was also in the balance, but saved the place for the 2026 Olympics. Norwegian combined coach Ivar Stuan believes that women can be the savior for the entire combined sport.
– In our time, equality is a matter of course and when we create combined sports for women, it will be natural to say yes to both genders, Stuan believes.
Ida Marie Hagen hears Stuan’s argument:
– I thought about it a lot too. If women don’t enter the Olympic program, things don’t look so rosy for combined. We cannot have a branch where both genders do not compete. We live in such a modern world. I feel this is important. It is even more important to save the entire combined sport. Kids help and support, says Hagen.
Olympic king Jørgen Graabak (31) puts it like this:
– Girls can save boys and boys can save girls.
He will not reveal whether the men’s national team will be part of Saturday’s campaign.
– Women have had an extreme development. It was a pity that they could not participate in the 2026 Olympics. I figured they would join and could continue the development. I feel they are cutting the legs a bit on slim development for women. They could have shown themselves very well at the 2026 Olympics if given the chance.
Graabak points to a signature campaign initiated by Swix to support women.
– We already have over 100,000 signatures. And we get support from different countries.
World champion Gyda Westvold Hansen (20) agrees with Graabak:
– I think the level is high and the development is excellent in the women’s combined. We see that everyone stands up.
– In today’s society, we need two genres for a sport to survive. That’s right.
– Do you still see hope for the 2026 Olympics?
– We didn’t give up. We will continue to fight tooth and nail.
Ivar Stuan says they get help from other nations as well:
– The IOC prides itself on being the fairest Olympics ever. It is not pleasant for us to listen.
– How many nations are involved?
– In the men’s class there are 16–17–18 nations in one league. For girls, I expect them to be 12-13. And if it gets into the Olympic program, then it will flourish, says the combined manager.
