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PARK CITY, Utah (June 24, 2022) – On June 24, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) added men’s and women’s dual moguls and women’s large hill ski jumping to the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
“We are thrilled to see the inclusion of women’s large hill ski jumping and dual moguls in the Olympics,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard President and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt. “We’re happy to see the IOC increasing gender equality with ski jumping, and our strong freestyle moguls team will be a major contender in dual moguls in four years.”
U.S. Ski & Snowboard began advocating for the inclusion of dual moguls to the Olympic program in 2018. With the cooperation of nine nations including Sweden, Great Britain, Canada, Japan, France, Russia, Australia, Georgia and Kazakhstan, the international freestyle moguls community formally petitioned the International Ski Federation (FIS) to consider proposing the event to the IOC in 2020. FIS moved forward with the proposal during its 2022 Congress in May and the IOC approved the event during its Executive Board Meeting on June 24, 2022.
Dual moguls pits skiers in head-to-head competition in knock-out rounds. The added intensity of racing side-by-side means skiers results in spectacular displays of athleticism in a spectator friendly manner. It is competed on the same course as moguls, requiring no new venue or infrastructure.
The discipline has been part of FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup competition since 1979, had its FIS Freestyle Ski World Championship debut in 1986, and has been consistently part of the World Championship program since 1999. American crowds are no stranger to the sport, with huge numbers showing up at the U.S. Freestyle Ski Team’s marquee World Cup at Deer Valley Resort on the 2002 Olympic moguls run year after year.
The inclusion of dual moguls aligns with the pillar of sustainability of the IOC Olympic Agenda 2020+5 roadmap and is also an important showcase of gender equality at the highest level of sport. Male and female athletes ski the same course and generally compete and train on the same day.
“It is an exciting moment for our sport to have dual moguls included in the Olympic medal program,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Freestyle Director Matt Gnoza. “The U.S. is a top contender come duals day, we took the Nation’s Cup in duals in 2022. We will look to build on that success over this next quad to be serious medal contenders for 2026 and share what many call the greatest show on snow with the world.”
Women’s large hill ski jumping joins women’s normal hill ski jumping as an Olympic event. Women’s normal hill has been an Olympic event since Sochi 2014, and is an important step in gender equality in the Olympic movement.
The IOC declined to add women’s nordic combined to the 2026 Games and said they would reconsider for 2030. “U.S. Ski & Snowboard has worked alongside USA Nordic Sport and the FIS to bring gender equality to the sport of nordic combined,” said Goldschmidt. “We believe that all sports should be equally represented on all levels, from the grassroots to the Olympic level. We are very disappointed that the IOC chose to not make the sport equal.
Additionally, mixed team snowboard racing was not added to the slate of Cortina events and the alpine team event was eliminated.
