Milano Cortina 2026: The newest Olympic sport has the oldest history

When Ramone Cooper broke his knee at the age of 21, four months after Vancouver 2010, he was ranked No. 2 among Australia’s top skiers – behind eventual gold medalist Dale Begg-Smith.

As many elite skiers do, he pushed on anyway and finished 27th. But at some point in his rehabilitation, he realized that that energy was no longer worth squeezing when it came to achieving his dreams of Olympic success, and found a satisfying exit strategy that would keep him on the winter sports stage he still loves: working on it.

After a seven-year stint developing athletes with Snow Australia, essentially a business of his own making, Cooper moved to Switzerland with his wife, who found work with the IOC. Long story short, after being asked by Snow Australia to represent the fledgling Australian skimo federation at the international congress, he is now chief executive of the sport’s governing body and has been tasked with transforming a largely volunteer-focused organization into a modern, professional sports organisation.

“This is a very unique opportunity,” Cooper said.

Skimo comes at a critical moment in the rescheduling of the Winter Olympics. This is the first new sport added to the program since the reintroduction of skeleton in 2002, and the way these Games are organized has changed a lot since then. The IOC’s ‘New Norm’ strongly encourages host countries to use existing or temporary venues; For the Milano Cortina, 80 percent of them fit this bill, and very few are this decent.

All you really need for skimo is a mountain.

Cooper said a decision will be made in June whether it will remain an Olympic sport beyond this year, but discussions about the French Alps 2030 are positive and ongoing.

The version of Skimo currently being rolled out is what the sport describes as a “T20 version”: There are men’s and women’s sprints that last just a few minutes with a 70-meter climb, followed by a mixed relay in which athletes complete the circuit twice.

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Fittingly, Australia’s two competitors, like Cooper, also come from other sports: Phillip Bellingham has competed in cross-country skiing at three previous Olympics, while Lara Hamilton is fresh off trail running from the same athletic background as many of skimo’s biggest stars. Actual skiing skill is secondary to having a good engine and being able to switch between elements quickly.

The more traditional version, similar to Test cricket, can last more than an hour on a climb of up to 1600 meters and off-piste descents – and that’s what Cooper wants to see at the Olympics, perhaps at the next event, to showcase the host nation’s spectacle.

“In the classical disciplines, we have athletes who cross mountain bays and ridges and reach the summits, truly showcasing the beauty of the mountains,” he said.

“Where we live in Europe, there’s so much to explore and a great way to do it. We see all the snow sports taking place in the central alpine region – but at the moment we don’t see many sports taking place at the summit. And we hope that in the future we can take our sport to the top during the Games and offer something truly unique.”

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Cooper is now passionate about skimo but had never tried it himself until he started operating it.

“The athletes competing here have 60mm skis under their feet, they’re wearing Lycra, they’re wearing carbon boots, and they’re super light. And I don’t do that,” he laughed.

“I have comfortable boots, thick skis, I wear loose clothes.

“It’s very interesting, because in climbing, you see athletes who will probably be competitive or make themselves competitive in the skinning sections – but then you’ll see people losing the race in the transitions. They do it in like five seconds. It’s incredible. There’s a lot going on.”

Winter Olympic Games are broadcast on TV 9Network, 9Now And Stan Sports.

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