After the cancellation of a Winter Olympics ski jumping event due to snow, the IOC continues to embarrass itself in 2026.
Every time the Olympics come around, some great things come out of them that show you the heartwarming stories sports can create. From the Team USA mixed curling team winning silver to 41-year-old mom Elana Meyers Taylor winning her first career gold medal, the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics haven’t been short of heartwarming moments. Unfortunately, these Olympics have also been the source of many incredibly dumb moments that are just flat-out annoying and wrong.
Unfortunately, the mayhem that ensued during the men’s super team Olympics ski jumping final was just another example of how much work the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has to do.
Controversy in Men’s Super Team Olympics Ski Jumping
Weather Cancels Final Round
I know what you’re probably thinking: “It’s the Winter Olympics, how is weather a factor?” Well, if that’s you, you are likely just as confused and pissed off as many Olympics fans are right now. The men’s super team ski jumping final consists of three rounds. Each country has a team that consists of two ski jumpers. The total scores for both jumps are counted in each round. After each round, some teams are eliminated until the medal winners are decided by the three leaders after the third round. These Olympics were different, however, as the finalists were decided after two and a half rounds, after they went back to the round two scores to determine the winners.
Halfway through round three jumps, the weather conditions picked up. By picked up, I mean there was slightly heavier snow flying and slight winds. That was enough to cause a delay in moving the jumpers down a gate so they’d launch with less speed and, in theory, be at less danger of landing too far down the hill. After one or two more jumpers went, the “jury” that makes such decisions on ski jumping decided that ski jumping in snow and slight winds was too hazardous and called off the final jumps. As a result, they decided the winners by the standings at the end of round two, even though more than half of the teams already made their round three jumps.
Germany Olympics Ski Jumping Screwed While Poland Survives
Everyone can agree that safety is the number one priority. With that in mind, this is the Winter Olympics. I can guarantee you these athletes have been training in weather just as bad, if not worse. In an event only held once every four years, instead of postponing the final jumps to later in the night or even the next day or the next few days, they instead decided to call it off. But don’t worry, it’s not like these athletes have been slaving away for years for this moment just to possibly have it be taken away unfairly and prematurely.
If the standings after round two were clear and straightforward, with round three serving more as a final wrap-up, that would be one thing. However, that was far from the story here. While Austria was in first, by over 20 points, and simply needed to land to win gold, there was still plenty to be decided for the last two medals. Poland was in second by about 10 points, while the bronze position was held by Norway, with three other teams within three points. While none of the teams outside of that range did anything in the final round that would’ve warranted them getting back into medal contention, it’s what happened inside that area that caused controversy.
Second-ranked Poland put out a poor third run and was outscored by Germany Olympics ski jumping by over 30 points, a result that surely would’ve seen the Germans vault into at least one of the medals, if not silver. It’s important to note that the German team jumped just briefly before Poland, so the conditions weren’t that different. In addition, the judges give a wind and gate factor, so the wind speed and where the jumpers take off from are taken into account. However, since the final round was cancelled, Poland was able to hold onto the silver medal even though they were likely going to fall out of medal contention altogether while Germany will go home empty-handed even though they likely would’ve been in a medal place as well. For the countries that were trying to chase Norway for bronze that were right there, they also never got the chance and will have to wait four years to try again.
Common Sense Out the Window
There are so many things wrong with this decision by the “jury” and the IOC that I don’t even know where to begin. First off, again, it is the WINTER OLYMPICS. We are cancelling an event because of SNOW. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills that this is even a possibility. On top of that, as I stated earlier, these athletes compete and push themselves to the limit for an event that happens once every four years. There is no way that a competition should be called off early without them having a say. Every time down the hill, they are staring in the face of danger and laughing in its face. The fact that a call was made and the athletes weren’t even allowed the chance to push through and jump, at least to finish their event, is incredibly sad.
Now, to the next incredibly frustrating part of this scenario. This event took place on Monday. The Closing Ceremony doesn’t kick off until Sunday, almost six hours after the final event takes place. You’re telling me you couldn’t find a single hour, but most likely THIRTY MINUTES to finish the runs? Again, there were not many runs left, and gate exit and wind conditions are accounted for, which means there wouldn’t be an unfair advantage or disadvantage for the teams that would have to wait to jump.
At the end of the day, nothing is perfect. With that in mind, it’s absolutely ridiculous to take away something that very well could be a once-in-a-lifetime event for an athlete because the IOC cares so little that they can’t be bothered to reschedule a few jumps for their athletes. Hopefully, there will be enough outrage to bring a fix to this and stop this from ever happening in the future, as events like this do nothing but make the IOC look like a bunch of amateurs who don’t know what the hell they’re doing.
