In preparation for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, bobsled, skeleton and luge athletes this week completed the first round of tests at the Cortina d’Ampezzo’s “Eugenio Monti” Sliding Centre.

Originally built in the 1920s, with a rich history and tradition, the track played host to many prestigious sports events before it underwent redevelopment into a 1,730-meter track partially following the original with 16 curves.

This week marked an important milestone as track experts from the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) and the International Luge Federation (FIL), alongside athletes and coaches, had the chance to inspect the track for the first time, with the athletes taking several test runs from different starting points.

Italy’s Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Matteo Salvini, came to the Sliding Centre on Tuesday for the inauguration. The day before, IOC Member and former bobsleigh athlete Prince Albert II of Monaco, who competed in five Olympic Games, also visited the track.

Italian skeleton athlete and Olympian Mattia Gaspari, a Cortina native, became the first to take a run on the re-constructed track.

“The track in Cortina has been rebuilt in only 300 days and I think this is something everyone should be proud of. Now Italy, after many years, has its own track again and in future, the Alps can host many races a couple of hours of driving distance from each other. The track looks beautiful, with different types of curves, but most importantly, many of them are nearly the same or resemble the ones from the old track!

“I took the first run ever on this track, and since I’m native from Cortina it was emotional, especially seeing the faces of all the people that worked day and night to accomplish this result — I have to thank them a lot for making this possible!”

Other athletes, like Team USA’s California-based Kaillie Humphries Armbruster — a five-time World Champion, four-time Olympic medallist and first women’s monobob Olympic Champion at Beijing 2022 — had to travel further to get their first experiences on the track.

A total number of 60 bobsleigh, skeleton and luge athletes from 12 nations have participated in the tests during the past few days.

Looking back on a successful week of pre-homologation of the Cortina Sliding Centre, IBSF President Ivo Ferriani said, “It is just fantastic to see our track for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games taking such good shape. We all know that the timeframe for the reconstruction was very tight and ambitious, but SiMiCo has done an amazing job. We have successfully held the test runs for the pre-homologation, which is part of the homologation process. Minor adaptions still need to be done and the main focus must remain on the finalization of the construction works. 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.”

Fabio Saldini, government commissioner and CEO of Infrastructure Company Milan Cortina 2026, said, “The greatest satisfaction of these days were the looks of the athletes who conveyed the excitement and energy of testing this track that may be called the most beautiful in the world. This reflected the feelings of all the workers and men and women, seeing the result of their extraordinary work with their own eyes. It is with great pride that we have welcomed the positive judgment of the federations, which gratifies us and will make us work even harder with commitment and dedication to conclude, as scheduled, this work that has already become the icon of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games”.

Completion of the roofing and all the facilities next to the track is scheduled for Nov. 5, with subsequent homologation and handover to Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026.

Meanwhile, as for every track, IBSF’s focus is on the long-term use of the sports facilities. For Cortina d’Ampezzo’s “Eugenio Monti” Sliding Centre, the legacy plans in place are well developed, with the track set to become a fixed part of the IBSF calendar planning post-Games, reflected in a multi-year plan for IBSF events and training camps at this track.

In addition, in January the International Olympic Committee elected the Italian Alps as host of the next Winter Youth Olympic Games 2028, returning to some of the iconic sports venues that will be used for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, including the Cortina Sliding Centre for bobsleigh and skeleton.