The inaugural test race on the disputed sliding track undergoing reconstruction for the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics saw skeleton world champion Matt Weston from Britain emerge victorious on Friday. Weston outpaced European champion Samuel Maier of Austria by 0.15 seconds following two runs in the head-first discipline along the Eugenio Monti track in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. This event also marked the commencement of the skeleton World Cup for the Olympic season.
Yin Zheng of China secured the third position, finishing 0.18 seconds behind, after setting a new track record with a time of 56.79 seconds in the initial run. German junior world champion Lukas Nydegger achieved his best World Cup performance, landing in fourth place, narrowly missing a podium finish by 0.05 seconds. Among the American participants, Austin Florian claimed the 10th spot, while hometown favorite Mattia Gaspari led Italy in 17th place.
In the women’s category, Jaqcueline Pfeifer celebrated her first World Cup victory in nearly five years. The three-time World Cup overall champion finished 0.23 seconds ahead of her German compatriot and Olympic champion Hannah Neise. Kim Meylemans from Belgium secured the third spot, trailing by 0.32 seconds.
A mixed team competition was slated for later on Friday, with bobsled races scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Despite the completion of the competitive section of the Cortina track, ongoing construction work in the surrounding areas meant that no spectators were allowed to attend the test event.
The International Olympic Committee had initially proposed hosting the sliding events for the Games in Austria or Switzerland, considering the closure of the Cortina track in 2008 due to escalating maintenance expenses. However, the Italian government persisted with its plans and allocated 118 million euros ($136 million) for the reconstruction of the venue. The Winter Olympics are set to take place from February 6 to 22.