interview
Kit McConnell has been Sports Director of the IOC since 2014 and is therefore jointly responsible for the Olympic competition program. Previously, the 49-year-old worked as tournament director for Rugby World Federation for over a decade. In the Sportschau interview, he talks about the reasons for the threat of Nordic combined being eliminated from the Olympics and the chances of remaining part of the competition program.
sports show: When publishing the sports for the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan, the IOC did not take into account the fact that women’s competitions in Nordic combined were being hosted for the first time. What were the reasons for this?
Kit McConnell: First of all, I would like to emphasize that gender equality is very important to the IOC. From our point of view, there are two things to consider when it comes to Nordic combined. First, we looked at the popularity of men’s competitions. At the Olympics we see a low number of nations winning medals and a low attractiveness of the sport. In the last three games, 27 medals have been awarded in Nordic Combined, with only four different nations winning medals. In addition, the sport – from a global perspective – received the least media attention during the last Olympic Winter Games – as far as television and digital distribution are concerned. We are openly discussing this with the International Ski Federation – also against the background of the Olympic Games in 2030. Because the men are already preparing for 2026, we have decided to leave the men in the Olympic program for 2026.
Then we looked at the women. There was a first world championship, with 10 nations, dominated by the few big nations in Nordic combined. We currently see neither the diversity nor the public approval and also no broad level of performance to justify inclusion in the Olympic program. Also against the background that the men also have their problems in terms of attention and ratings.
To be clear – the men’s place for 2030 is not guaranteed. We want to see a clear trend here in terms of popularity and broader spike.
How much do the men have to fear for the survival of Nordic Combined as part of the Olympics?
McConnell: We all have the same goal – a strong Nordic combined as part of the Olympic program. That’s why we left the men in the program for 2026 to give the sport the chance to start developing. Incidentally, not only the dates of the Olympic Games will play a role, but also those of World Cups and World Championships – both for men and women. Of course, we are particularly looking at how many spectators the Nordic Combined can attract at the 2026 Olympics. Immediately afterwards we will evaluate it – and make the decision for 2030.
You said that the audience’s attention is the most important criterion. Does that refer to viewers on site, or mainly to the people on the screens?
McConnell: Of course, it is also important how many spectators are there. But to be honest, Olympic competitions are almost always sold out, regardless of the discipline. It is therefore particularly important to us how many people watch the live broadcasts on television, the time-delayed broadcasts – depending on the time zone in which the games take place, the followers on social media and the general media attention to the competitions. TV viewership and online coverage are two things that Nordic Combined have struggled with in past games and which we believe need to move forward significantly. As I said – not only during the 2026 Olympics, but also at the 2025 World Championships and the 2025/26 World Cups.
Back to women. You have said that 2026 will be the most gender-equitable Winter Games ever. On the other hand, the women who have undergone a good process of development in recent years have not been taken into account. Can you understand why the athletes are then quite astonished by their words of gender justice?
McConnell: Of course we understand that all athletes want to be part of the Olympics because the Olympics are the ultimate format. From our point of view, however, there are two important prerequisites for this – public attention and the participating countries. The sport has the chance here, together with the FIS, to achieve a significant increase in the coming years – both in terms of the participating countries and the distribution of the podium places as well as new spectator groups.
Now, excluding women from the 2026 games doesn’t make the process any easier. The national sports federations are financed by the governments, which mainly look at Olympic sports. After the cancellation for women in relation to 2026, this seems like an emergency stop. Many athletes ask themselves – does it even make sense to continue investing in the sport. How do you discuss this fact with the FIS and the national federations?
McConnell: Of course, we understand that before you can be part of the Olympic program, the investments are big. First of all, it is important for the women that the men will continue to be part of the Olympic program in 2030. We can see that the FIS is doing something here and we would very much like to see a strong Nordic combined event. The opportunity is there to show the IOC how much the sport has evolved by 2026.
How exactly are the IOC and FIS working together to achieve the big goal – to keep Nordic combined in the Olympic program beyond 2026 and to add women’s competitions?
McConnell: First of all, the communication with the FIS is very clear and open. We have detailed why the IOC Executive Board made the decision for the 2026 Olympics, what the tasks are for Nordic Combined and what we expect to see in 2026. We also got in touch with the athlete spokespersons directly because it was important to us that they also understand the background to our decision and what is needed to develop Nordic Combined forward.
The IOC sees one of the biggest obstacles for the Olympic future of Nordic Combined in the small number of top nations and the associated small distribution of medal places. The national federations have already reacted and started a “Nations for Nations” program. The strong associations support two to three smaller countries with training opportunities, material and know-how. How does the IOC see these first steps?
McConnell: We leave the details of the development to the FIS and the national federations. We support the FIS and the National Olympic Committees with the income from the Olympic Games. It is then up to them to set priorities and make the appropriate investments in order to achieve the specified goals.
Torsten Püschel conducted the interview.