Olympics-SkiMo-American pair strive to push through Europe-dominated ski mountaineering ranks

By Marleen Kaesebier

BORMIO, Italy, Feb 21 (Reuters) - With Europe dominating the ski mountaineering ranks, a non-European nation may not be in the fight for medals in Saturday’s mixed relay race at the Milano Cortina Games, but the newcomers from the United States are determined to give it a try.

Having secured their spots to Milano Cortina with the U.S.' first ever World Cup win in the discipline in December, Anna Gibson and Cam Smith are already making history in their sport.

Rooted historically in alpine military training, it is no wonder SkiMo has been dominated by European nations at World Cups so far, but with the sport becoming an Olympic event, the push to enter the big leagues has been noticeable, particularly from the United States.

Smith has been active in the sport for some years but December was her first ever World Cup, and the Olympic sprint was only about her fourth official race. Gibson only joined the U.S. team from trail running last September.

Johanna Hiemer of Austria said in December of Gibson arriving on the SkiMo scene that year that: “Within one summer everything changed, and we always said it wouldn't happen overnight but it proved the opposite.”

USA SkiMo’s Head of Sport, Sarah Cookler, said in December that the Olympic addition of the sport will only help push it further in her country as well. “It's really only a matter of time before we can attract the strongest athletes for this and be really competitive.”

HAPPY WITH SPRINT RESULTS

On Thursday, Smith and Gibson were both “lucky losers” in their respective Olympic sprint heats, allowing them to continue on into the semifinals and earning them 11th and ninth place respectively in the end.

"Hopefully the U.S. can kind of continue to improve and climb and be on par with the Europeans in the near future,” Sarah Cookler said in December. She hired Italian trainer Oscar Angeloni in 2024, in part also to mimic the structure of European teams.

Gibson said competing in Bormio has meant not needing to explain SkiMo to those around her, including non-athletes.

“You can feel that SkiMo is just part of the culture. It's very normal. It's very understood here,” she said. “To not have to explain what it is to people here and just know that there are fans who have been supporters of the sport for a long time is really special.”

No matter where they finish on Saturday, Smith and Gibson are already happy with their Olympic performances.

“The sprint is definitely not my best event, so I’m just taking it as a really positive sign for Saturday and the mixed relay. It's a great sign for Anna and I that we’ve made it as far as we did in the sprint,” Smith said on Friday.