GENEVA, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The International Olympic Committee Executive Board on Wednesday proposed ski mountaineering as an additional sport for the 2030 French Alps Olympic Winter Games, with the recommendation set to be considered by the 146th IOC Session later this month.
The proposal follows a request from the French Alps Organizing Committee and a review by the IOC's Olympic Program Working Group. The 146th IOC Session will take place in Lausanne, Switzerland, on June 24-25.
"The OPWG recognised the sport's potential to add meaningful value to the program, supported by its established presence in Alpine regions and the strength of leading nations such as France, whilst enhancing diversity and appeal, building on ski mountaineering's Olympic momentum," the IOC said.
"The sport is fully aligned with the French Alps 2030 vision, highlighting an authentic mountain environment with minimal infrastructure, while offering engaging and accessible competition formats that inspire broad audiences, particularly younger generations," it added.
Ski mountaineering made its Olympic debut at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games with men's, women's and mixed relay sprint events. For the 2030 Games, organizers have proposed adding men's and women's individual events.
"Building on the success of Milano Cortina 2026, which confirmed the sport's strong engagement, spectator and youth appeal, capacity to create a very good atmosphere and competitive value, French Alps 2030 aims to have five events in two disciplines of ski mountaineering on its program," the IOC said.
The Executive Board also approved a slight adjustment to the timeline for finalizing the discipline and event program, as well as athlete quotas, for the 2030 Winter Games. ■
