MILAN: Ski Mountaineering will be put forward as an additional sport during the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Saturday. The organising committee “officially proposed the inclusion of Ski Mountaineering as an additional sport to the programme of this specific edition of the Games,” the IOC said in a statement. “The IOC Executive Board has forwarded this proposal to the next IOC Session in Tokyo in July.” The proposal would see the inclusion of five medal events — two men’s (Sprint/Individual), two women’s (Sprint/Individual) and one mixed-gender relay. All events were tested during the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne 2020, the IOC said. Ski mountaineering involves climbing mountains either on skis or carrying them, depending on the steepness, and then descending on skis. It is particularly popular in Italy.