IOC announce sport to be added to Winter Olympics as part of biggest shake-up ever
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have announced that another sport will be added to the schedule at the 2030 Winter Olympics.
The next Winter Olympics will take place across four distinct regions in southern France - Nice, Briancon, Savoie and Haut-Savoie.
For the first time in the history of the Games, though, one event will be held in a different independent nation as part of a condition of the IOC's hosting agreement.
Speed skating will take place at a venue in either Italy or the Netherlands, with the exact host yet to be officially determined.
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For Milano-Cortina 2026, ski mountaineering - a combination of climbing and descending - was included in the programme as an additional sport, with local organisers pushing for its inclusion due to its popularity in Italy.
Additional sports tend to be replaced for the next Winter Olympic cycle, but the IOC executive board has decided to keep ski mountaineering on the schedule for Alpes 2030.
A total of 48 athlete places were made available for the sprint and mixed relay events and were 'found within the overall framework' of the initial quota of 2,900 athletes for the entire Games.
Switzerland's Marianne Fatton became the first-ever Olympic champion in ski mountaineering when she won the women's event, before Spain's Oriol Cardona won the men's event.
France's Emily Harrop and Thibault Anselmet won gold in the mixed relay.
Major change announced for 2030 Winter Olympics
As well as the addition of ski mountaineering, the IOC's executive board has announced a new framework titled 'Fit for the Future', which will play a key role in adjudging which event disciplines are included in future Olympic calendars.
Both existing disciplines and candidate disciplines are part of the framework, with three key criteria - global appeal, cost and operational complexity, and athlete representation - then being used to assess each one.
In addition, the IOC have announced that up to $140 million will be paid directly to athletes through a fund ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Athletes who compete in LA can then apply for $10,000 worth of grants.
The scheme is also open to those who competed in the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, meaning star athletes such as Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, Franjo von Allmen, Michaela Shiffrin and Eileen Gu may decide to apply.
It has been confirmed that the approved money will be sent directly to national Olympic committees, who must show proof that they have transferred it to athletes that apply for it via an online platform.
IOC athletes' commission chair Pau Gasol stated: "While every athlete's journey is different, every Olympian has made sacrifices to reach the Olympic stage - years of dedication, years of hard work, years of believing in a dream.
"This is not prize money. This is about recognising the journey and the commitment it takes to become an Olympian.
"And it is about recognising that every Olympian is part of our Olympic community, and honouring those who have come before us and paved the way, so that current and future generations of Olympians can benefit."
Topics: Olympics
Ryan Smart