The China Mail - Green light for Winter Olympics bobsleigh slope

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.

W.Cheng--ThChM