This Olympics Is Leaning Hard Into Mixed-Gender Events

"Appearing at the Games for the first time, skimo, short for ski mountaineering, grew from a long tradition of scaling mountains on skis-sometimes for hours on end-for the reward of gliding down, preferably through untracked powder. But at the Olympics, it will involve sprints of approximately three and a half minutes. First, athletes ascend a steep slope on skis outfitted with special fabric strips called "skins," which prevent them from sliding backwards down the hill."

"Then they throw their skis on their back and hike in ski boots, put their skis back on for a final ascent, and finally peel off their skins to race downhill. The events will include a mixed-gender skimo relay-"contrived for the Olympic field," Sarah Cookler, the head of sport for USA Skimo, the sport's American governing body, told me. Each team will include one man and one woman, each of whom will run the course twice."

Ski mountaineering (skimo) debuts at the Winter Olympics in a sprint format of roughly three and a half minutes. Competitors ascend steep slopes on skis fitted with fabric "skins" to prevent backward sliding, remove skis to hike in ski boots, reattach skis for a final ascent, then peel off skins for a fast downhill. The Olympic program includes a mixed-gender relay with one man and one woman per team, each completing the course twice. Team USA will include Anna Gibson and Cam Smith. Mixed-gender events are being expanded across Winter Olympic sports to increase representation and parity.

Read at The Atlantic