Saturday Scroll: Rallying around a fight for Olympic inclusion

Annika Malacinski has the kind of Olympic story media outlets and marketers dream of. The 24-year-old daughter of a ski instructor grew up in Steamboat Springs, Colorado — one of the only areas in the U.S. with the infrastructure to facilitate Nordic combined, a marriage between cross-country skiing and ski jumping.

Malacinski’s brother, 21-year-old Niklas, has been in the game since he was seven, while Annika pursued gymnastics at an elite level. After a shoulder injury at 16, she worried her Olympic dreams were dashed, until she considered the family sport. She remembered being terrified as she locked her skis into the jump for the first time, then the adrenaline rush of flying. In a few short years, she’s become a top Nordic combined athlete and is on the U.S. women’s national team.

Right now, this is as far as Annika can go. The IOC voted against adding a women’s competition twice in recent years. Malacinski campaigned for its inclusion in Milano Cortina 2026, and she vividly remembered the frustrated tears as she learned of the IOC’s cold rejection without explanation.

• But she also considered this a turning point in her skiing career. She could either quit the game, or stay in the race and fight for Olympic inclusion.

For the past four years, Annika has chosen the latter, and she’s recruited powerful supporters along the way. From earning more than 74K followers across Instagram and TikTok to being the center of a Gore-Tex campaign, Annika is being embraced as the face of women’s Nordic combined.

• As she seeks an opportunity to compete in French Alps 2030, invested brands are realizing the ROI that comes from supporting someone fighting for gender equity — and the prime storytelling and brand affinity that comes with helping her close the gap. And let’s not forget the style points…

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So, why isn’t women’s Nordic combined included at the Olympics? The reason seems rooted in assumptions that the women’s event simply isn’t worth investing in.

• The IOC told Malacinski and fellow athletes that it declined to add a women’s event for three reasons: The sport lacked global athlete participation, diversity among participating countries, and strong viewership for the men’s event at Beijing 2022.

Malacinski has strong arguments against the first two points: There are about 30 women hailing from nine different countries performing at an Olympic caliber — decent for a niche winter sport. On the men’s side, she estimates there are about 60 Olympians in the discipline representing around 12 countries, noting that Norway (the birthplace of the sport) dominates the podium anyway.

• And women do compete at the international level, proving there’s enough of a pipeline and a platform to generate true world-class talent on par with the men’s side.

The third point reflects persistent old-school assumptions the women’s sports world has repeatedly dispelled. Women’s sports shouldn’t be evaluated by the same KPIs as men’s, and low viewership on the men’s side doesn’t mean the same would be true for women — just look at U.S. soccer, where the women garner more viewership and popularity, even when their pay failed to reflect it.

• Malacinski’s fight for equality is a potential draw for Nordic combined. If her plight keeps grabbing headlines and she successfully campaigns for Olympic inclusion, it’s also likely more viewers would watch in the future.

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Despite the Olympic snub, brands are quickly embracing the storytelling power around Malacinski. Kari Traa, Glimpse Films, Sauce, and Gore-Tex have all featured her on social, with Possible PR founder Jackie O’Keefe, who represents Malacinski, saying Gore-Tex specifically got on board because her story resonated with a brand lead.

Overall, the brand response has been complicated, according to O’Keefe. “Many companies admire Annika, but because women’s Nordic combined isn’t yet an Olympic event, she’s often been offered free product rather than the meaningful partnerships extended to Olympic athletes.”

This means Annika can’t benefit from the same exposure as official Team USA and U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes, as she’s been excluded from deals with brands like Skims and J.Crew. The snow sport governing body is securing more partnerships than ever, which Niklas can access but Annika can’t.

• However, Annika said that compared to her brother, she has an “upper hand” with big brands, largely thanks to her social media savvy and empowering pursuit of equity. Even without the Olympic spotlight, she has authentically built a sizable, engaged social media audience.

Her content offers glimpses into her glamorous life as an elite, globe-trotting athlete, but it also includes impassioned takes on why her sport belongs at the Games. Two Instagram posts on Olympic exclusion gave Annika 3.4M and 2.9M views, respectively.

• In the last month, Annika’s page had over 6M video views and reached over 2.6M accounts. She boasts a 12.2% engagement rate as reels remain her strongest format, drawing 78% of total views, according to O’Keefe.

Data has proven over and over that women’s sports fans make an effort to endorse brands supporting women athletes, and companies that close gender gaps have an even bigger opportunity for brand glow, something Ally’s internal data has repeatedly affirmed.

Unfortunately, Annika will be on the sidelines this February, but smart brands should jump at the chance to ensure the Olympics are equitable for all.