A brand new Olympic sport, ski mountaineering, will debut at the Milan Cortina Games

The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics will debut a new sport next month: Ski mountaineering, which combines uphill sprinting (on boots and on skis) and downhill skiing. Although the sport on the global stage is relatively new, it does have roots dating to the late 19th century. Backcountry winter sports have grown in popularity and there is anecdotal evidence that they saw a surge in participation during the pandemic.

Something to know about skimo: It's fast, with sprint races lasting about 3 minutes.

Ski mountaineering will have men's and women's sprint events along with a mixed relay.

The race works like this: The racers sprint uphill with skins on the bottom of their skis. A skin is a strip of material that allows for traction going uphill. They then run a section in boots before putting their skis back on to traverse another uphill section. Once at the top, they take the skins off and race downhill. In the men's and women's sprint-event format, there will be a qualifying round where 18 racers qualify over three heats. The top three athletes in each heat advance to the semifinals along with three others based on time. In the semifinal rounds, two advance along with two more “lucky losers," which sets up the race for medals. The mixed relay consists of one female and one male racer from each country. Each will complete two ascents and descents. The female athlete begins, then tags her male teammate for the switch. The team that completes all four laps first wins gold.

The current ski mountaineering sprint champions are Swiss racer Marianne Fatton and Spain's Oriol Cardona Coll. Another favorite is France's Emily Harrop, who won the test event at the venue last winter ahead of Fatton. Coll won the men's event ahead of Swiss racers Jon Kistler and Arno Lietha. In the mixed relay event, Coll partnered with Ana Alonso Rodriguez for the win. Harrop and Thibault Anselmet were second. Rodriguez said in October she was hit by a car while cycling, tearing knee ligaments, hoping to heal in time. The U.S. earned an Olympic spot in the mixed relay thanks to a World Cup victory from Anna Gibson and Cam Smith.

The races will be staged in Bormio at the Stelvio Ski Center, with the men's and women's sprint events taking place on Feb. 19. The mixed relay competition takes place two days later.

The medal winners will be the first in their sport at the Olympics.

There are penalties in the race for things such as disrespectful behavior, unsportsmanlike conduct, technical errors and equipment that’s missing. The penalties range from a disqualification to adding time. The first ski mountaineering world championships were held in France in 2002. The sport is presided over by the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF), representing roughly 55 national federations across five continents. Ski mountaineering was part of the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne. The sport is proposed for the 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

FILE - Athletes compete during the women's mixed relay race at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup event in Bormio, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)

FILE - Athletes compete during the men's sprint race at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup event in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)

FILE - United States' Kelly Wolf competes during the women's mixed relay race at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup event in Bormio, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)

FILE - Athletes compete during the women's sprint race at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup event in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, file)

FILE - An athlete competes during the women's sprint race at the Ski Mountaineering World Cup event in Bormio, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bruce Brown scored 19 points and got the winning bucket in overtime off a goaltending call on Joel Embiid, and Jalen Pickett had 29 points to lead the short-handed Denver Nuggets to a 125-124 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.

Embiid was whistled for the decisive goaltend when he tried to block Brown's running layup with 5.3 seconds left. Tyrese Maxey missed a winning floater for the Sixers at the horn.

Embiid scored 32 points — the fourth time in his last eight games he has scored 30 — and Maxey had 28

The Nuggets played without three-time MVP Nikola Jokic — out at least until the end of the month with a with a hyperextended left knee — Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and others a night after a loss at Brooklyn.

The entire regular starting lineup sat out, and the Nuggets had only nine available players.

Peyton Watson added 24 points for Denver.

The Nuggets refused to use their lighter roster as an excuse to pack it in against the Sixers.

Hunter Tyson converted a four-point play that gave Denver a 102-100 lead in the fourth and Pickett followed with a 2-footer that forced the 76ers into a timeout and served as the highlights of a 14-0 run.

Brown snapped a tie game with a 3-pointer and made 2 of 3 free throws for a 120-115 lead when he was fouled on a 3-pointer on the next possession. That miss in the middle doomed Denver in regulation.

VJ Edgecombe hit a 3 that made it 120-118 and Maxey tied the game on a driving layup with 49 seconds left that sent the game into OT tied 120-all. Edgecombe, the No. 3 pick of the draft and having a sensational rookie season, also gave the Sixers their last lead in OT on a dunk just before Brown's goaltended winner.

The 76ers returned from a 3-2 road trip — that included all three wins on the backend.

Denver plays Wednesday at Boston.

The 76ers host Washington on Wednesday.

AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA

Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey (0) goes up to shoot against Denver Nuggets' Daron Holmes II during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Philadelphia 76ers' Tyrese Maxey (0) goes up to shoot against Denver Nuggets' Peyton Watson during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Philadelphia 76ers' Quentin Grimes (5) goes up to shoot against Denver Nuggets' Spencer Jones (21) and Jalen Pickett (24) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Denver Nuggets' Hunter Tyson (5) goes up to shoot against Denver Nuggets' Spencer Jones during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid tries to get a shot past Denver Nuggets' Jalen Pickett (24) and Daron Holmes II during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)