Regina Martinez took up cross-country skiing while studying medicine in the U.S. as an antidote to harsh winters but the sport has led her to the Milano Cortina Olympics where she will be the first Mexican woman to compete in the discipline.

After revealing she can’t compete in the Olympics, Annika Malacinski’s story went viral, reaching over 1.5 million views

Nordic combined, the only Olympic sport that bars women from competition, dates to the original Winter Games but may not survive beyond the Milan Cortina competition. The sport that fuses ski jumping with cross-country skiing is in jeopardy because it doesn't have a big following and a small number of countries dominate the podium.