Skeleton world champion Matt Weston from Britain emerged victorious in the inaugural test race on the reconstructed sliding track for the upcoming Milan Cortina Olympics. Weston outpaced European champion Samuel Maier of Austria by 0.15 seconds in the head-first competition at 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, trailing by 0.18 seconds after setting a new track record with a time of 56.79 seconds in the initial run. Lukas Nydegger, the junior world champion from Germany, achieved his best World Cup performance, finishing in fourth place, narrowly missing a podium placement by 0.05 seconds.
Among the American competitors, Austin Florian claimed the 10th spot, while local athlete Mattia Gaspari represented Italy with a 17th place finish. In the women’s division, Jaqcueline Pfeifer celebrated her first World Cup triumph in nearly five years, edging out her German teammate and Olympic champion Hannah Neise by 0.23 seconds. Kim Meylemans from Belgium secured the third spot, finishing 0.32 seconds behind the leader.
Later on Friday, a mixed team event was scheduled, followed by bobsled races over the weekend. Although the competitive section of the Cortina track is operational, the surrounding infrastructure is still under construction, and no spectators were permitted for the trial competition.
Initially, the International Olympic Committee proposed relocating the sliding events to neighboring Austria or Switzerland due to the closure of the Cortina track in 2008. However, despite the IOC’s recommendation, the Italian government proceeded with the reconstruction, investing 118 million euros ($136 million) in revamping the venue. The Winter Olympics are slated to take place from February 6 to 22.
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