Photo © Mark Herreid | Dreamstime.com
Cross country running consistently ranks in the top 10 most popular sports for high school athletes (boys and girls). Photo © Mark Herreid | Dreamstime.com
For a while, cross country was at a crossroads. Organizers wanted it back in the Olympics; in fact, it hadn’t been featured there since 1924. But, unfortunately, when was included, things didn’t go so well.
While cross country is traditionally a cold-weather sport, it was contested during the Summer Games, along with track & field and road racing events; unfortunately, during the 1924 Olympics in Paris, most of the men running dropped out because of extreme heat. The discipline was then dropped.
World Athletics officials originally said they would like to bring back cross country but would like to see it held during the Winter Olympics. However, there was initial pushback from the IOC, whose members cited clause six of the Olympic Charter, which states, "Only those sports held on snow and ice may be included in the Winter Games."
But it’s a new day at the IOC and Kirsty Coventry, the organization’s new president, wants to make some changes. Those changes include putting cross country into the Winter Games, along with cyclocross.
To kick-start her plan, Coventry has formed a working group that includes Sebastion Coe of World Athletics. Coe, like Coventry, is playing the long game and sees beyond the mere addition of a sport.
According to Inside The Games, adding cross country create a more global games, since it would give medal opportunities to those outside the ice and snow nations. Specifically, it could give Africa greater prominence in the Winter Games than it currently has, both historically and traditionally, since African athletes excel in cross country. No African athlete has ever won a Winter Olympics medal, so this would represent a seismic shift.
Canadian Running Magazine notes that while the program for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy is already set, Coe is targeting the inclusion of cross country by the Winter Games in 2030 (French Alps) and 2034 (Salt Lake City).
If cross country does make it into the Olympics, it will have a strong youth audience (something the IOC is always seeking), since the most recent NFHS participation survey found that cross country running remained in the top 10 most popular sports among both boys and girls in the 2024-2025 academic year.
Another potential change to the Winter Games would be the addition of cyclocross which, like cross country, is not yet an Olympic sport.
The news reports also say that cyclocross is wildly popular, particularly in Europe, so including it would undoubtedly appeal to the continent's cyclists, who currently dominate the sport. It is also one of the fastest-growing branches of cycling in terms of participants.
Coventry’s new ideas don’t stop there, either. She is envisioning a time when summer sports could also be transferred to the Winter Games. Reportedly, judo is among the sports being considered. She would also like to see pole vault moved outside the stadium and onto the streets, making it more spectator friendly.
Urban pole vault is already a beloved tradition stateside, with the Capitol District Pole Vault returning each year to the streets of Omaha.
"I think the timing is right because Kirsty is truly willing to think differently about the program and what could take place outside the stadium, as well as the mix between winter and summer sports," Coe told Inside The Games.
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