Annika Malacinski on What It Takes to Be a Pro in Two Sports

Annika Malacinski shares what it takes to compete in two sports at a professional level and what the future of Nordic combined looks like for women.

Annika Malacinski beams at the camera, her long, light brown hair cascading over her shoulders, as she greets me on a bright Norwegian summer morning. It’s hard to imagine this cheerful and relaxed 23-year-old as a fierce competitor who transforms into a determined athlete during competitions.

Annika is a rare breed of pro athlete who competes in two sports: ski jumping and cross-country skiing in a sport called Nordic combined. In Nordic combined, athletes must, for lack of a better word, combine precision, power and endurance. In competition, they first take two ski jumps, where they’re scored on both distance and style, followed by a 6-mile / 10-kilometer cross-country race. It’s a unique test of versatility, requiring both the explosive strength of a ski jumper and the stamina of a cross-country skier.

👉 FOLLOW Annika Malacinski on Strava

“I love competing in two sports, but it’s a challenge to balance training for both,” Annika explains. “You need the mental toughness to perfect your ski jumps, and the physical grit to push through the pain in cross-country skiing.”

Back to the beginning

As a member of the U.S. National Nordic combined team it would be easy to assume Annika took up the sport from a young age. However, Nordic combined wasn’t Annika’s first love, gymnastics was. “I started gymnastics at seven and competed at a high level throughout school,” she shares. By the time she was 16, however, her injuries from repeated tumbles and accidents had taken a toll and she had to retire. “It was a really hard decision but I knew deep down I wanted to keep being an athlete.”

Little did she know then that she’d exchange pole vaults for skis and jumping on bars to flying over snow-covered hills. Annika’s introduction to Nordic combined happened organically after watching her younger brother, Niklas, - a pro Nordic combined athlete - compete at a July 4th competition in their hometown of Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

MORE PROFILES: Into the Unknown: How Two French Skiers Made Mountaineering History

She was so inspired by what she saw that a couple of days later she found herself “strapped into ski jumping gear and hiking up the 131-foot / 40-meter ski jump hill in Steamboat Springs,” she recalls. “Then, I was sitting on the bar with my skis in the tracks and there was no turning back. I’ve never felt more scared in my life because I’d never ski jumped. I remember getting tunnel vision due to all the adrenaline,” she says. “I let go of the bar, went down the hill and flew for 65 feet / 20 meters. I landed on my feet and I remember having the most insane adrenaline rush of my entire life. I knew I wanted to do it again.”

Shining glory

Fast forward seven years and Annika is now competing on the World Cup circuit and has participated in two World Championships in a sport she took up less than a decade ago. “Last season was incredible,” she beams. “It was the best one I’ve ever had. I got a personal best of eighth place in the World Cup in Austria and finished 14th overall at the end of the season. I’ve gotten onto the podium multiple times at Continental Cups and it’s made me really hungry for the next few years.”

Annika’s rise, though, hasn’t come without its challenges. As with many athletes, learning to harness her mental strength for competition took time and dedication, proving to be just as formidable as the physical demands of her sport. “The biggest thing about showing up to a World Cup event or something of that magnitude is having the mental aspect tuned in. You can be as strong as you want physically, but it’s the mental side of things that can be really tough,” she reflects.

DID YOU READ? Keira D’Amato: Rewriting Records and Redefining ‘Runner’s Prime’

“I struggled with that a couple of years ago because I thought the physical aspect was the most important. But last year before my season, I worked really hard on my mental strength too. I did hypnosis training, I journaled a lot, I meditated – I made my mental fortitude my priority because the pressure of knowing you only have one chance to get a good jump can be crushing. Now, I’m much calmer and I trust that I’ve done the right training. When I’m at sitting at the bar [at the top of the ski jump], I remind myself, ‘I am strong and I can do this’.”

The results speak for themselves, as shown by her stellar performances at last season’s World Cup. And with the next World Championships taking place in Trondheim, Norway, where she now lives, Annika is more motivated than ever. “I have very big goals for them, especially now knowing what I am capable of. I’m super excited and I’m here for the ride.”

Pushing for equality

As Annika looks ahead to future competitions, she’s also mindful of the larger battle she and her fellow women Nordic combined athletes are fighting: the push for equality, especially in the Winter Olympics. Despite the sport being one of the original 16 medal events at the inaugural Winter Games in 1924, it has remained a men’s-only event at the Olympics for the past century.

ADVENTURE STORIES: Tackling Canada's Most Famous Ski Traverse

“When I joined the sport, I was excited about the prospect of competing at the 2022 and then the 2026 Winter Olympics. I hoped that women’s Nordic combined would finally be included,” she explains. Unfortunately, that dream has evolved into a more complex reality. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently decided not to include women’s Nordic combined in the 2026 Games, citing low audience numbers and a lack of “diversity of countries” participating.

Even though Nordic combined hasn’t made it into the women’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics, Annika is still impressed with how far the sport has evolved. “I have never, ever seen a sport progress the way women's Nordic combined has. It's a very new sport for women, but it's been incredible to see its development in the past few years.”

“What’s really cool about my journey is that I’ve been able to see and be a part of the rise of Nordic combined. I got to experience the first-ever World Cup in Austria in 2021 and the first World Championships. We have gone over so many hurdles already and this sport has already progressed so much, it’s great to see.”

ADVENTURE INSPIRATION: Running Among Giants: Exploring Iceland’s Trail Running Scene

Looking ahead

“Even though I know I’ll never get to compete at the Olympics, however hard a pill that was to swallow, I know I get to go to World Cups every single year, as well as the World Championships,” she says, proudly.

Now, Annika is using her platform to advocate for the next generation of women Nordic combined athletes. “I want to keep fighting to get our spot at the Olympics, not for me but for the younger girls who are interested in Nordic combined. I want to be a trailblazer to open Nordic combined to younger girls.”