Steamboat Olympian: Niklas Malacinski
01/22/2026 04:03PM ● By Sophie Dingle
Photo courtesy of Niklas Malacinski.
Niklas Malacinski wants to join the ranks of great Steamboat Springs Nordic combined athletes like Johnny Spillane, Bill Demong and Todd Lodwick. He’s on his way: He qualified for the 2021 and 2023 U.S. World Championships teams, and he earned his first U.S. National Championships win in 2024. He began the 2024-25 season with a personal-best 13th-place finish at the World Cup in Ruka, Finland, and finished the season ranked No. 26 in the world. Despite these results, Niklas missed a spot on the 2022 Olympic team. When he had a second chance to qualify for the Winter Olympics in February, he took it, today earning a spot on the men's Nordic combined team. Now, he’s looking ahead to Italy with determination, hope and a new perspective. He shares his thoughts with Steamboat Magazine.
On not qualifying for the 2022 Olympics in Beijing
It took me a while to get out of the whole headspace of disappointment because that was a huge check point for me – of being on the right track to meet my goals. There is so much weight to the name of the Olympics and being a senior in high school then, that would have been the absolute dream. It took me a while, but after about six months, I started to get over the disappointment. I would say that’s shaped how I look at disappointment nowadays. Now I’ve learned to let go of results that don’t go my way – or anything else in day-to-day life. I worked with a lot of sports psychologists, and I was really able to change the perspective of learning from that experience rather than looking back on it and regretting it. Every day I learned to accept it a little more and with the acceptance of it, I began to learn how to manage those emotions.
On what he would do differently this time around
Last time around, I made a mistake of putting too much trust into coaches and trusting the coach to tell me what’s best. While in a perfect world I would have that, I didn’t have that in the Olympic year and it was really hard for me. But it taught me to take ownership of my own career and to know what steps precisely I need to take for myself. I was 18 years old so I hadn’t had a lot of experience in taking ownership of what’s the best path forward. That’s what I’ll be doing going into this Olympics. I’m going to be a lot more selfish to make sure I have the best opportunities to be the best I can possibly be.
On training leading up to the Olympics
On an Olympic year, a lot of athletes change things and really focus up and go after it. But that can lead to a lot of disappointment – when you change things. My main project for this year has been consistency. I’ve been on the right path and I think when things click, I think that the same things that I’ve always done will work out best. There’s a lot of intention going into this season.
On his sister, Annika, who is also a Nordic combined athlete
With siblings there is a lot of competitiveness. It’s a nice way to have someone pushing you at all times even when you’re at home and your teammates aren’t around. It kind of brings the training camp mindset home. We see each other do our own routines and get some motivation.
On accomplishment
There’s more to it than just an accomplishment. This lifestyle and the philosophy of sport has taught me so much when it comes to life. The environment that I get to be in and the amount that I travel – and just my whole career up to now – is such an accomplishment tome. I’m so proud of what I have. I wouldn’t want to pick out one particular thing because I’ve had some amazing results in my career as a whole.
Niklas Malacinski wants to join the ranks of great Steamboat Springs Nordic combined athletes like Johnny Spillane, Bill Demong and Todd Lodwick. He’s on his way: He qualified for the 2021 and 2023 U.S. World Championships teams, and he earned his first U.S. National Championships win in 2024. He began the 2024-25 season with a personal-best 13th-place finish at the World Cup in Ruka, Finland, and finished the season ranked No. 26 in the world. Despite these results, Niklas missed a spot on the 2022 Olympic team. When he had a second chance to qualify for the Winter Olympics in February, he took it, today earning a spot on the men's Nordic combined team. Now, he’s looking ahead to Italy with determination, hope and a new perspective. He shares his thoughts with Steamboat Magazine.
On not qualifying for the 2022 Olympics in Beijing
It took me a while to get out of the whole headspace of disappointment because that was a huge check point for me – of being on the right track to meet my goals. There is so much weight to the name of the Olympics and being a senior in high school then, that would have been the absolute dream. It took me a while, but after about six months, I started to get over the disappointment. I would say that’s shaped how I look at disappointment nowadays. Now I’ve learned to let go of results that don’t go my way – or anything else in day-to-day life. I worked with a lot of sports psychologists, and I was really able to change the perspective of learning from that experience rather than looking back on it and regretting it. Every day I learned to accept it a little more and with the acceptance of it, I began to learn how to manage those emotions.
On what he would do differently this time around
Last time around, I made a mistake of putting too much trust into coaches and trusting the coach to tell me what’s best. While in a perfect world I would have that, I didn’t have that in the Olympic year and it was really hard for me. But it taught me to take ownership of my own career and to know what steps precisely I need to take for myself. I was 18 years old so I hadn’t had a lot of experience in taking ownership of what’s the best path forward. That’s what I’ll be doing going into this Olympics. I’m going to be a lot more selfish to make sure I have the best opportunities to be the best I can possibly be.
On training leading up to the Olympics
On an Olympic year, a lot of athletes change things and really focus up and go after it. But that can lead to a lot of disappointment – when you change things. My main project for this year has been consistency. I’ve been on the right path and I think when things click, I think that the same things that I’ve always done will work out best. There’s a lot of intention going into this season.
On his sister, Annika, who is also a Nordic combined athlete
With siblings there is a lot of competitiveness. It’s a nice way to have someone pushing you at all times even when you’re at home and your teammates aren’t around. It kind of brings the training camp mindset home. We see each other do our own routines and get some motivation.
On accomplishment
There’s more to it than just an accomplishment. This lifestyle and the philosophy of sport has taught me so much when it comes to life. The environment that I get to be in and the amount that I travel – and just my whole career up to now – is such an accomplishment tome. I’m so proud of what I have. I wouldn’t want to pick out one particular thing because I’ve had some amazing results in my career as a whole.