Winter Olympics 2026: What is new ski mountaineering event ‘skimo’?

Ski mountaineering, or ‘skimo’, is making its Winter Olympics debut at the 2026 Games in Milan-Cortina.

Skimo is a sprint event consisting of three uphill elements and one downhill in the individual events, which combine skiing and running.

The first element in the men’s and women’s sprints sees athletes run uphill with skis on their boots through an obstacle course that includes two sets of diamonds that competitors have to negotiate around.

After that, athletes reach their first of three transition areas. They must take their skis off their feet and attach them to their backpacks, before sprinting up a set of stairs to the second transition area.

When reaching the second transition area, athletes will then put their skis back on and will ‘skin’ for around 10 to 20 meters to reach the final transition area – so called due to the fabric skins attached to the skis for grip on the surface.

From there, athletes will ski downhill in a race to the finish line. The whole course usually takes between three to four minutes to complete.

The mixed team relay sees teams of one man and one woman completing four alternate laps of the course, with two ascents and two descents per lap.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team.