Olympics - IOC Executive Board meeting press conference - Salon Hoche, Paris, France - November 29, 2023 Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi during the press conference REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File Photo
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Construction of a new sliding centre for the 2026 Milano-Cortina winter Olympics is on track despite a tight schedule, with athletes set to test the venue for the first time in March, the International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday.
The sliding venue for the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton competitions has been on a tight deadline from the start after Italy opted to build a new facility instead of using an existing one in one of several neighbouring countries.
The IOC had repeatedly voiced concerns over the planned new track and had urged 2026 Games organisers to use an existing sliding centre outside Italy to keep costs down and cut preparation time.
"On Games organisation we went through the (Milano-Cortina)venue constructions and we have three of them in particular which we follow very closely and they are being developed according to plan," Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi told a press conference after an IOC Executive Board meeting.
The Cortina Olympic village would be delivered a few months before the Games as planned while the ice hockey venue in Milan also had a set testing plan with the venue being gradually delivered from next October onwards, he said.
Dubi said the sliding centre's construction was progressing at a "rapid pace" but was a more technical project.
IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell said athletes' safety was the top priority for the sliding venue.
"Key focus is athletes' safety," McConnell said, adding international federations were working with independent experts with the goal of having the first athletes testing the venue in a few months in a pre-homologation period.
"You have athletes on the track testing it at different heights. Then adaptations are made so that it can be fully operational for the 2025/26 season," McConnell said.
The Games will be held in Milan and Cortina D'Ampezzo from Feb. 6-22, 2026.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Toby Davis)
