The European Cross Country Championships in Ireland this year brought up an old but unanswered question: should cross-country running have a place in the Winter Olympics? The debate to include it in the Olympic program was reignited once again, garnering support from the track and field community on social media following the event’s conclusion.

Matt Lawton, The Times’ chief sports correspondent, triggered the latest round of debate by posting on X, “Very much doubt winter sports organisations are watching the European Cross-Country Championships (on BBC iPlayer) but they should be. The sport would be a great addition to the Winter Olympics and they really should be more open to such suggestions if they want to evolve.”

However, the Winter Olympic Federations have already resisted the idea. The earliest the sport could feature at the Games would be at the 2030 Games in France, but the likelihood of it happening appears low.

“The Winter Olympic Federations are firm in our belief that such an approach would dilute the brand, heritage, and identity that make the Olympic Winter Games unique,” wrote the Winter Olympic Federations in a statement last month responding to calls to include sports like cross-country running in the program.

Adding it would also require revising the Olympic charter, which states that winter sports must be played on snow and ice, whereas cross-country running would occur on mud, despite wintry conditions. Nonetheless, the recently concluded European Championships highlighted just how much of an exciting addition the sport could be.

On the 13th of December, in Lagoa, Portugal, Ireland had a historic performance. Their senior men’s team took silver, their first podium finish in 25 years. They also won gold in the U23 men’s race and a bronze in the U20 women’s race, including a 16-year-old making headlines.  Even RTE praised the team, saying they “treated it like a Champions League and milked every single bit” of the experience.

Across the world, athletes are showing how tough cross-country running in winter can be. At the 2025 NJCAA Division I and II National Cross Country Championships in Fort Dodge, Iowa, runners competed in falling snow on courses already covered in more than two inches.  Some had never run in snow before, yet they powered through cold and slippery terrain, proving just how winter-ready the sport is.

So all this added up to a pretty strong statement. With 16 official sports on the roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics, the Winter Olympics have room to expand compared to the packed Summer Games. And now the track and field world is also uniting behind the concept.

Track and field fans are calling for cross-country running at the Winter Olympics

One track and field enthusiast commented, “It would be a perfect win/win for athletics and the profile of the Winter Games. Mad they seem to be dismissing it out of hand as not a trad winter snow sport.” And they have a point. Cross-country running has a rich Olympic history, as it was featured in the Summer Games of 1912 (Stockholm), 1920 (Antwerp), and 1924 (Paris). But at the 1924 Paris Olympics, the race was run in extremely hot weather over hilly terrain.

Several runners experienced heat exhaustion, dehydration, and collapse. Due to the challenges of standardizing courses and ensuring athlete safety, the IOC voted to drop cross-country running from the Olympic program after 1924.

Some argue it points to the need for modernization, to reimagine the sport in a way that allows it to work in a Winter Games environment that is more attuned to its long-endurance style of racing.

There is talk of adding cross-country running, along with cyclocross, at the 2030 Winter Olympics in France. Judo could also be added in line with the IOC’s ‘Fit for the Future’ concept, which seeks to future-proof the Games and maintain their relevance and appeal to a global audience.

Even World Athletics President Sebastian Coe has said, “I think there’s a good chance it’ll happen. And I think it’s come at the right moment because Kirsty Coventry is certainly prepared to think differently about the program and what could go out of the stadium and that mix between winter and summer.”

Another track and field fan weighed in: “An event often held in southern venues [Algarve, Antalya, Lisbon, Sardinia, Provence] is a good fit for the Winter Olympics, you say?” Another added, “If they want it as a Winter Olympic sport, they need to make proper winter style cross-country championships to sell it. Cold, frosty, muddy and chaotic.”

Nonetheless, winter sport federations are firmly resistant to the idea, describing the proposed additions as unwelcome “piecemeal proposals.”

Despite that, support for cross-country running continues online. One more fan said, “Would be a winner at the Winter Games no question Probably won’t happen unfortunately.” Another chimed in: “Another vote for XC in the Winter Olympics!” But not everyone is convinced. Leaders within the International Biathlon Union, including Secretary General Max Cobb, have expressed skepticism.

Cobb, in one interview, stated that “If they were super popular sports they would already be in the Summer Games and they’re not…” The difference is evident: on the one hand, fans are thrilled with the thought, but on the other hand, cross-country running officials are rather careful, as it remains unanswered whether the given sport should be introduced to the traditional model of the Winter Games.