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Local Italy
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Local Italy
Italy given green light for Winter Olympics bobsleigh track
After numerous setbacks, controversies and only 13 months of construction, a feat hailed by politicians as "an Italian miracle," the sliding track for the Milan-Cortina Games now appears to be fit for purpose. "We have successfully completed the pre-approval test runs as part of the homologation procedure," said bobsleigh federation chief Ivo Ferriani of Italy in a joint statement with Simico, the Olympic delivery company. "Minor adjustments still need to be made and the main focus must remain on completing the construction work, but the feedback we have received from our technical experts, athletes and their coaches has been very positive," Ferriani added. The official stamp of approval comes three days after the Cortina d'Ampezzo track's inauguration. Italy's Mattia Gaspari may not be among the gold medallists in the Dolomites from February 6 to 22 next year, but the 31-year-old skeleton specialist made history on Tuesday as the first to race down the much-discussed track. Since Monday 60 athletes representing the disciplines of bobsleigh, luge and skeleton have put the slope through its paces with test runs. Work to finish facilities for athletes at the Eugenio Monti slope will now resume. "The work is scheduled to be completed on November 5, 2025," Simico stated. When construction began in February 2024, late for a project of this scale and complexity, many doubted that it could be completed. Not Matteo Salvini, the second-in-command and Minister of Transport in Giorgia Meloni's hard-right government. Salvini relaunched the project at the end of 2023, when organisers wanted to relocate the 12 bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton events to neighbouring Austria or Switzerland, because of the lack of a functioning track in Italy. "I want to thank the workers who came from all over the world to Cortina to create this miracle that represents Italy so well," the Italian deputy premier said this week. In January, Italian 2026 Winter Olympic organisers had named American ski resort Lake Placid as their "Plan B" should Cortina d'Ampezzo not be ready in time. Friday's announcement suggests 'Plan A' is firmly on course for use in 11 months time.
CBC
29-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Bobsleigh officials rave about Cortina track, a good sign for 2026 Olympic events being held there
Italy appears to be one big step closer to having the sliding events at next year's Milan-Cortina Olympics on its own track after all. The International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation said Friday that it has declared this week's testing period at the Cortina d'Ampezzo track "successful" and that it looks forward to the 2026 Olympics being held at the rebuilt track. That's not the official word — that will likely come from the International Olympic Committee — but it is the strongest suggestion yet that Cortina's ambitious construction project will bring the Olympic bobsleigh, skeleton and luge races there and not require the Plan B site of Lake Placid, New York. About 60 sliders from 12 countries, half of them from Italy, tested the track this week in what is called pre-homologation. The reports from those sliders, evidently, were positive. "Minor adaptions still need to be done and the main focus must remain on the finalization of the construction works," IBSF president Ivo Ferriani said in a news release distributed Friday. "The feedback we received from our technical experts and the coaches and athletes on site this week, has been very positive. We are thrilled about this outcome and the entire bobsleigh and skeleton community cannot wait to come back here for our World Cup in November, further training — and then of course the pinnacle of all competition, the Olympic Games." Work is scheduled to continue at the site until Nov. 5, at which time the facility — which still needs a roof and event-support buildings — will be handed over to Milan-Cortina organizers. Simico, the Italian government agency in charge of the 118 million euro project, reported positive results for the test runs. But it will be officials from the IBSF, International Luge Federation and the IOC who determine whether to bestow preliminary certification for the track. Ferriani's words were an indicator that the IBSF is on board. Preliminary approval would be a big step in avoiding a backup Plan B option that the IOC had demanded and which would require moving the three sliding sports all the way to Lake Placid if the track in Italy wasn't finished in time. Lake Placid officials were hopeful that, if the sliding events were going to be awarded to the U.S., the official word would come by the end of March. Luge athletes are scheduled to have an international training period at the new track from Oct. 27 through Nov. 2, then return for a test event there in the final week of November. The bobsled and skeleton tours will hold their international training period from Nov. 7-16, followed by the season-opening World Cup races there from Nov. 17-23. The 1.749-kilometre Cortina track features 16 curves with an estimated top speed of 145 kph and with run times slated for 55-60 seconds.
Reuters
28-03-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Italy's new sliding centre for 2026 Games passes initial tests
March 28 (Reuters) - The new 'Eugenio Monti' sliding centre for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics has successfully completed its initial tests for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton competitions. Track experts from the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation and International Luge Federation as well as coaches, assessed its compliance with international racing standards. In the initial, or 'pre-homologation', test runs, 60 athletes from 12 nations tested the 1,730-metre track - a redesign of the 1920s original with 16 curves. "It's just fantastic to see the track in such good shape," IBSF President Ivo Ferriani said in a statement on Friday. "We all know that the time frame for the reconstruction was very tight and ambitious. "The feedback we have received from our technical experts, the coaches and athletes on site this week has been very positive," he added. Italian skeleton athlete Mattia Gaspari, a Cortina native, was the first to test the track after its inauguration on Tuesday. Athletes from Team USA, including five-times world champion and Olympic medallist Kaillie Humphries, also tried it. The completion of the roof and ancillary installations is scheduled for November, before final tests before it is handed over to the organisers of the February 6-22 Games. Lake Placid in the U.S. has been chosen as Plan B for next year in case something happens to the schedule of the sliding centre project, although the International Olympic Committee said in January that it will be finished on time.
Associated Press
28-03-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Bobsled officials rave about Cortina track, a good sign for 2026 Olympics being held there
Italy appears to be one big step closer to having the sliding events at next year's Milan-Cortina Olympics on its own track after all. The International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation said Friday that it has declared this week's testing period at the Cortina d'Ampezzo track 'successful' and that it looks forward to the 2026 Olympics being held at the rebuilt track. That's not the official word — that will likely come from the International Olympic Committee — but it is the strongest suggestion yet that Cortina's ambitious construction project will bring the Olympic bobsled, skeleton and luge races there and not require the Plan B site of Lake Placid, New York. About 60 sliders from 12 countries, half of thm from Italy, tested the track this week in what is called pre-homologation. The reports from those sliders, evidently, were positive. 'Minor adaptions still need to be done and the main focus must remain on the finalization of the construction works,' IBSF president Ivo Ferriani said in a news release distributed Friday. 'The feedback we received from our technical experts and the coaches and athletes on site this week, has been very positive. We are thrilled about this outcome and the entire bobsleigh and skeleton community cannot wait to come back here for our World Cup in November, further training — and then of course the pinnacle of all competition, the Olympic Games.' Work is scheduled to continue at the site until Nov. 5, at which time the facility — which still needs a roof and event-support buildings — will be handed over to Milan-Cortina organizers. Simico, the Italian government agency in charge of the 118 million euro ($128 million) project, reported positive results for the test runs. But it will be officials from the IBSF, International Luge Federation and the IOC who determine whether to bestow preliminary certification for the track. Ferriani's words were an indicator that the IBSF is on board. Preliminary approval would be a big step in avoiding a backup Plan B option that the IOC had demanded and which would require moving the three sliding sports all the way to Lake Placid if the track in Italy wasn't finished in time. Lake Placid officials were hopeful that, if the sliding events were going to be awarded to the U.S., the official word would come by the end of March. Luge athletes are scheduled to have an international training period at the new track from Oct. 27 through Nov. 2, then return for a test event there in the final week of November. The bobsled and skeleton tours will hold their international training period from Nov. 7-16, followed by the season-opening World Cup races there from Nov. 17-23. The 1.749-kilometer (1.09-mile) Cortina track features 16 curves with an estimated top speed of 145 kph (90 mph) and with run times slated for 55-60 seconds. ___
CBC
07-03-2025
- Sport
- CBC
If Lake Placid becomes 2026 Olympic sliding site, New York's Rockefeller Center will be play big part
Picture this: A sliding athlete wins an Olympic medal in Lake Placid next winter, then is chauffeured down to New York for an award ceremony at Rockefeller Center a few days later with thousands of people there to cheer on both moments. It could happen. The element of incorporating New York into the Olympics is just one of the unique details inside Lake Placid's plan if the two-time Olympic host gets asked to be the site of the sliding events for next winter's Milan-Cortina Games, according to documents reviewed this week by The Associated Press. Lake Placid was picked as the just-in-case backup track last year, and with the Olympics less than a year away a decision could be looming on whether the Adirondack village will be called to serve once again. "The most important thing is to give the athletes what they deserve, and that is a true celebration," said Ashley Walden, the CEO of the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which manages the Olympic venues in Lake Placid. "They've been working for it for four years. It needs to be bigger than the everyday race. That's the key to all of this. That's where New York City and the fanfare that we can offer, in addition to the race-night competition here, is crucial." How and when the decision comes on where the sliding races will be is unclear. Every indication put forth by Italian organizers is that the rebuilding of the historic Eugenio Monti track in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, will be done in time. But there is also a push for a definitive answer, especially with homologation — a fancy way of saying getting the necessary testing of the track done as part of the certifying process — set to begin in less than three weeks. Simico, the Italian government agency in charge of building the Cortina track, said Friday that "everything is going according to plan" and that ice is already being laid down on parts of the track, with pre-homologation slated for March 24-31. But International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation president Ivo Ferriani reminded sliders at Wednesday night's opening of their sports' world championships in Lake Placid that they may be back at Mount Van Hoevenberg next year for the Olympics, which caused the Italian contingent in the stands to audibly groan when he said that during his brief opening speech. Ferriani didn't offer a timetable. And that's the part Lake Placid — and really, the rest of the sliding world — is waiting to hear. Lake Placid's plan will take months to execute, and the sooner a decision comes the better, officials there say. "We are coming to a crucial point where we have to make a decision," Walden said Friday. "We have a vision for what it should be, and we want to be successful in achieving that. And the longer and the less lead time that we have, the less likely that is." Bid plan Lake Placid's bid plan includes the possibility of charter flights to bring athletes to and from upstate New York from Italy if those Olympians choose to attend the opening or closing ceremony there. It even details how sled transport from Europe will work and how other airports in the area — such as Montreal, Albany and Plattsburgh, New York, in addition to New York's John F. Kennedy — could be involved. The Lake Placid plan calls for Paul Smith's College, a small private school about 28 miles from Mount Van Hoevenberg, to serve as an athlete's village; the school would essentially close for January and February to accommodate that plan, and students there — many of whom are studying either sports management or hospitality — could work the games. "We want the athletes to have their village feel and Paul Smith's lets us accomplish that," Walden said. "It's the perfect size." Hotel rooms in the area have been secured for potential visitors and, either way, ORDA will spend about $80 million in the coming months primarily to build more spectator seating and modernize the refrigeration systems at the track. The construction involved in those projects is already underway and will pick up rapidly once the track is closed for the season around the end of this month. There are parallels within the plans for Lake Placid and Italy that organizers in the Adirondacks point to as well. Part of the marketing plan is touting that there's basically one degree of separation in terms of latitude between Lake Placid and Milan, and how it's essentially five hours between Lake Placid and New York — almost the same distance between Milan and Cortina. "I can't wrap my head around an Olympics being here," U.S. men's skeleton athlete Dan Barefoot said. "I actually don't even know how Lake Placid will handle it. It'd be insane." New York also cites statistics saying the state is home to about 3.1 million people with Italian heritage, second only to Argentina in terms of non-Italian locales in the world. And while Lake Placid played host to the Olympics in 1932 and 1980, New York City has never been an Olympic site. The Rockefeller Center plan — which would include some collaboration with Olympic broadcaster NBC, which has a studio right there — calls for a medals podium, a mini sliding track, athlete interviews on NBC's "Today" with their medals, viewing parties, athlete meet-and-greets and cultural integration with celebrities, businesspeople and restaurateurs of Italian-American descent. "You have this incredible city that loves to celebrate, and these athletes that are displaced from one country now in a place and competing here and have these special elements of celebration," ORDA spokeswoman Darcy Norfolk said. "It's the piece that I think also showcases New York state, Lake Placid to New York City, and kind of what we can do together."
