French Duo Claims First-Ever Olympic Ski Mountaineering Mixed Relay Gold

World champions Emily Harrop and Thibault Anselmet of France dominated Saturday's inaugural Olympic ski mountaineering mixed relay in Italy. The pair maintained their lead throughout the race, completing the challenging 1.41 km course in 26 minutes and 57.44 seconds.

BORMIO, Italy – World champions Emily Harrop and Thibault Anselmet of France captured the first-ever Olympic ski mountaineering mixed relay championship on Saturday, maintaining their front position throughout the entire competition.

The French team completed the demanding 1.41-kilometer course in 26 minutes and 57.44 seconds. Both athletes had already earned Olympic hardware earlier this week during Thursday’s sprint competitions, with Harrop securing silver in the women’s division and Anselmet claiming bronze in the men’s category.

Swiss competitors Marianne Fatton and Jon Kistler earned the silver medal, finishing 11.86 seconds behind the winners, while Spain’s Ana Alonso Rodriguez and Oriol Cardona Coll secured the bronze medal position.

The high-stakes finale featured all 12 competing teams launching simultaneously in one of the Winter Games’ concluding events.

Each nation fielded a two-person squad consisting of one male and one female athlete, with every competitor completing two individual circuits while building upon their teammate’s positioning.

Female athletes initiated the competition at the starting line, tackling a total elevation gain and loss of 135 meters each.

The relay circuits proved more demanding than the sprint version, requiring approximately seven minutes per lap compared to three minutes in sprint competition, with athletes alternating between segments.

Athletes must navigate uphill sections on skis equipped with specialized grip “skins,” scale a staircase while carrying their skis on their backs, and navigate downhill through a compact slalom course, with seamless transitions being essential for competitive times.

The Spanish team, despite being the sole medal-earning squad that didn’t maintain consistent positioning throughout, received a three-second time penalty, likely for improper “skin” storage procedures, though this didn’t impact their final medal standing.

American competitors Anna Gibson and Cam Smith achieved a respectable fourth-place finish, while Italian husband-and-wife team Alba de Silvestro and Michele Boscacci, who received the most enthusiastic crowd support, placed fifth overall.