The subject is high on Edgar Grospiron's priority list: which disciplines should be included in the program for the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps? David Lappartient, president of the CNOSF, has publicly insisted on the interest of cyclo-cross and cross-countryFreeride, ski mountaineering, speed skiing, and telemark are also among the candidates. A casting in which telemark is not the favorite, but has certain advantages.
More dynamic, more televisual
Introductions are in order. "It's a very old discipline at the international level, which has also evolved quite a bit in recent years. There's a World Cup and World Championships today, but that hasn't always been the case.", contextualizes Pierre Mignerey, national technical director of the French Ski Federation (FFS). The FIS has only managed telemark since 1995. An example of the discipline's backwardness: athletes use giant slalom skis, and not equipment specifically adapted to their practice. "There are no manufacturers who are thinking about it on a daily basis. In terms of the market, it remains limited," the DTN tells us.
To grow, the sport has reinvented itself in recent years. The FIS has provided it with more resources by expanding the staff responsible for organizing the circuit. "It's gradually taking shape to professionalize and work on the concept of events. This dimension is much better taken into account at the international level.", confirms Pierre Mignerey. Telemark has also, and above all, adopted the formats of parallel sprint and parallel team sprint, which are more dynamic and spectacular: "Telemark is very old, so some people might consider it a bit old-fashioned, but if you look at the competitions, you'll see that these new formats are quite promising."
"The objective of the telemark world in the run-up to the Games is to play on these dynamic events that correspond to the formats likely to interest the IOC. Shorter, more dynamic, more televised formats.", continues the DTN. The parallel sprint and the parallel team sprint had already been proposed for inclusion in the program of the Beijing 2022 Games. The FIS had even supported this, but without succeeding in convincing the IOC, which had preferred to include big air and mixed events in freestyle skiing, ski jumping, snowboard cross and short track.
The FFS aims for a hat-trick
Will the discipline finally be able to board the Olympic train in 2030? "We defend it because it is a traditional discipline, and one in which we have results.", confides Pierre Mignerey. The French team won eight medals at the 2025 World Championships, held on home soil in Les Contamines-Montjoie (Haute-Savoie). This argument is not the most important, but it could still be taken into account in the COJOP's thinking. "Given the time we have left, it's important to be performing well already. Building programs from A to Z to reach the highest level in five years is complicated. As a federation, telemark can only have our support." Speed skiing and freeride also have it, since these two other disciplines are placed under the authority of the FFS with, once again, convincing results on the international scene.
« We'll argue for all three and see what happens. If all goes well, we'll include all three! If not, we'll take whatever is decided, and that doesn't mean we'll abandon the one that isn't taken. » Beyond the Games, the future will depend on obtaining high-level sport status. The FFS was rejected by the Ministry of Sports during its last application in 2022. It will try again next year, following the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games. "If we want to develop the discipline and accelerate, we need this recognition. This will allow us to make our systems more flexible and better support the athletes.", argues the DTN. By then, telemark will already have decided whether or not it will be present at the 2030 Games. "Knowing that integrating the Olympic program, in an almost natural way, would allow for high-level recognition."
