Posse around sledding competitions
Toboggan boss warns against Olympic “nonsense”
September 24, 2024, 6:02 p.m
There is a controversy surrounding the 2026 Olympic sled races: the planned facility is wobbling, the IOC wants it to be relocated abroad. The Olympic organizers have alternative plans – and they are quite surprising.
After its reconstruction, the artificial ice rink at Königssee will not be a candidate for Olympic sled races in 2026. Thomas Schwab, CEO of the German association BSD, confirmed this to the SID. Other German railways are also not among the candidates if the facility in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, is not completed on time – instead, those responsible have some unexpected solutions in mind.
According to SID information, Plan B includes three options: The artificial ice rink in Innsbruck-Igls, a similar distance from the Olympic center in Milan as Cortina. Also the natural ice rink in St. Moritz – and the facility in Lake Placid in the US state of New York.
Germany could have, but didn’t want to
The alternative plan is necessary because, after some back and forth, the construction contract for the ice track in Cortina was only awarded last February. The facility is scheduled to be completed by March 2025. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), which had clearly spoken out in favor of moving the competitions abroad, demanded a plan B from the organizing committee in view of the time frame.
“We agreed to step in with three German railways, but then there were no more in-depth inquiries,” said Schwab on Tuesday: “But that’s okay.” From a German point of view, it is an undesirable “emergency solution” anyway: “We have clearly articulated that we want the Olympic Games for our athletes to take place in Italy, that was the priority. As an association, we are responsible for our athletes, we don’t want them to have to be outsourced, far away from the Olympics. That’s all cheese.” When an outsourcing seemed to have already been decided last year, it actually caused an outcry among athletes.
“Complete nonsense”
The alternative plans now favored are noteworthy for different reasons. As a purely natural ice rink, St. Moritz is always dependent on the weather conditions; a warm spring could make competitions impossible. Lake Placid, however, would be the greatest possible spatial separation between the sled competitions and the actual Winter Games, including the time difference.
When asked about the plans, Schwab also expressed incomprehension. “I definitely wouldn’t have gone to St. Moritz, I don’t know how that happened,” he said. Lake Placid is also “complete nonsense. They are in the race because they said: We pay for everything, the Olympic competitions don’t cost the IOC a cent. You can do it that way if you really want it. But whether it’s for sport is good is another question.”
