The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Tuesday released new competition formats for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in co-host cities Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, in Italy.

Changes will be made to the four events: alpine skiing combined, men's Nordic combined and ski jumping team events, and cross-country skiing.

The alpine skiing combined event will feature two specialists in a team instead of one skier.

Previously, the men's and women's combined had an individual skier compete in a downhill or super-G and then a slalom, with the quickest aggregate time determining the winner.

For the Milan-Cortina Games in Italy, the format will involve two skiers of the same gender representing a nation, with one specialist taking a downhill run and the other tackling the slalom course.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) said last month that the team combined event would be added to the upcoming Alpine World Cup season at a men's event in Kitzbuhel, Austria.

According to the IOC, Olympic team events for men's Nordic combined and ski jumping will be reduced from four athletes per nation to two.

In the Nordic combined event, each athlete will have one jump on the large hill. Both athletes will then alternate and ski a 1.5km loop five times each (7.5km each instead of 5km previously).

In cross-country skiing, male and female athletes will race the same distances at the Olympics for the first time in 2026, the IOC said, a year after FIS implemented the change for the 2022-23 World Cup.

The IOC Executive Board also approved the qualification systems for Milano Cortina 2026 for biathlon, curling, figure skating, short track speed skating and ski mountaineering.

No major changes have been made compared to the respective Beijing 2022 qualification systems, except for ski mountaineering, which is a new sport that has been added to the Olympic program for Milano Cortina 2026.

(With input from Reuters)