German official: Sliding track for 2026 Olympics to be ready soon
Construction of the sliding track for next year's Winter Olympics in Italy is making good progress and could see the first competitions next month, according to a German official.
"We could see the first races in March on the track, and the odd team event could have already been held," German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) high performance sport board member Olaf Tabor said.
The Games in Milan/Cortina d'Ampezzo open in one year, running from February 6-22, 2026.
Italy decided to build a new sliding track for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton athletes in Cortina for an estimated €82 million ($85.3 million), despite sustainability concerns expressed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Existing tracks in Germany, Austria or Switzerland could have been used, but Italy did not want to move Games events to other countries.
There were allegedly even plans to move the sliding events to the US track of Lake Placid if the Cortina venue wasn't completed in time.
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