Uncertainty Surrounds Possible Sabotage of Cortina Bobsleigh Track
Cortina d’Ampezzo: Carabinieri police are investigating to determine whether a controversial bobsleigh track being built in Cortina d’Ampezzo, which is set to co-host the 2026 Winter Olympics with Milan, was sabotaged or accidentally damaged, investigative sources have said. A refrigeration pipe was found detached, in the middle of a nearby street on Friday and investigators are trying to determine whether it was an act of sabotage or whether it fell because it had not been properly installed, the sources said.
According to Ansa News Agency, Italy is rushing to finish the sliding venue for the bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton competitions, which should be tested in March. Simico, the agency in charge of building the infrastructure for the Winter Olympics, said in a statement Friday that the refrigeration pipe was removed from the venue. The committee in charge of the infrastructure at next year’s Winter Olympics filed a criminal complaint following the incident and the Carabinieri police are investigating the matter, the sources explained.
The transport ministry on Friday condemned the alleged sabotage of the bobsleigh track as disquieting. Cortina, one of Italy’s most famous ski resorts and Milan, more than 400 kilometers away, are the main hosts of the Games next year. “What happened in Cortina, where unknown people sabotaged the bobsleigh track is disquieting and grave,” the transport ministry said in a note. “Those seeking to damage the Olympics are damaging Italy in front of the world. The State will not be intimidated,” it also said.
The construction site for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic and Paralympic Games, will soon be visited by a delegation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The construction of the bobsleigh track, which is nearly completed and should be tested next month to host the Olympic competition, has sparked a bitter controversy over the felling of dozens of trees. Numerous environmental associations reportedly filed complaints in relation to the demolition of the old Monti track and tree-felling to make way for the new facility.
Last year, plans to build a new bobsleigh track in Cortina looked set to be scrapped due to cost issues, amid proposals to hold the sliding events outside Italy. The disused track at Cesana in Piemonte created for the Torino 2006 Winter Olympics was also put forward as another option. However, in the end, the government and Veneto region decided to press ahead with the original plans. Milan and Cortina will host the Winter Olympics from February 6 to 22, 2026, and then the Paralympics from March 6 to 15.