Finnish head coach outraged by 2026 Olympic quota split: men’s relay may have only 8–10 teams

Finland’s head coach Teemu Pasanen warns that the men’s 4×7.5 km relay at the Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, held in Val di Fiemme’s Lago di Tesero stadium, could be reduced to as few as eight to ten teams. He calls the situation unprecedented in modern cross‑country skiing and damaging to the sport’s showcase relay event.

Pasanen explains that the root cause is the complex Olympic qualification system. Both men and women have 144 quota places distributed via an Olympic ranking that collected points last season from the World Cup, the Trondheim World Championships, and the Junior World Championships. Unlike the Nations Cup, the Olympic ranking first guarantees at least one spot to every country that scored ranking points. In men’s skiing that list is nearly 70 nations, consuming a large portion of the total quota and squeezing the numbers available to the top teams.

As a result, no nation earned the maximum eight men’s quota places via the ranking. Norway, Sweden, Finland, France, and the USA topped out at seven. No country reached six, while Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and the Czech Republic received five, and Canada got four. Consequently, only these countries can even field a men’s relay team—leaving the relay’s start list very short and vulnerable to further shrinkage if illness strikes.

By contrast, women’s quotas are much healthier. Because far fewer one‑athlete nations qualified on the women’s side, leading countries such as Finland received the full eight women’s places. Pasanen notes the situation could shift slightly if some one‑athlete nations later decline spots in the final allocation at the end of January, but he is not counting on it. If places do free up, Finland would be fourth in line for an eighth men’s spot after Norway, Sweden, and France.

Pasanen is blunt: the Games should have a large enough athlete quota to ensure the best countries can bring their best skiers, even while accommodating small nations. At recent World Championships, Finland typically entered 9–11 male skiers, but under the current Olympic system Finland will likely be limited to seven, as in Beijing 2022 when it had only six.

Selection will therefore be far more painful than usual. Finland’s men’s A‑team has 11 skiers, and some strong candidates outside the main group are also pushing for selection, meaning capable athletes will miss out on desired Olympic experience and potential strong results.

The women’s selection is simpler. With eight women’s places available and star Kerttu Niskanen rejoining for the Olympic season, essentially only one A‑team skier will miss out.

Pasanen also points out that Norway’s coaches Eirik Myhr Nossum and Arild Monsen face an even harsher crunch. Norway is limited to seven male athletes for Val di Fiemme despite having at least ten genuine medal contenders. He underlines that true gold‑medal candidates will be left at home—a stark outcome he considers unfair to the sport.