Overview
- The IOC Executive Board finalized the 2030 French Alps programme on Tuesday by excluding Nordic combined, keeping snowboard parallel giant slalom, and adding freeride skiing and snowboarding plus a nine‑skater synchronized figure skating event called Synchro9.
- The board set athlete quotas to reach gender parity with 3,046 places split 1,525 female and 1,521 male and 126 total medal events to rebalance opportunities across winter sports.
- The IOC justified dropping Nordic combined because it ranked lowest on multiple popularity measures and showed limited international reach across recent Games, and the committee said the sport can seek re‑inclusion for 2034 if participation and viewership improve.
- Freeride will debut with four medal events — men’s and women’s ski and snowboard — with approximately 22 athletes per gender per discipline and is being added after formal growth under the Freeride World Tour and FIS recognition.
- FIS, national federations and athletes reacted with disappointment and warned the removal could harm funding, development pathways and athlete careers while organizers say the decision reflects a push to keep the Olympics relevant and cost‑controlled.