The first official test race on the contentious sliding track being reconstructed for the Milan Cortina Olympics saw skeleton world champion Matt Weston from Britain emerging victorious on Friday. Weston secured the win by a narrow margin of 0.15 seconds over European champion Samuel Maier of Austria after completing two runs on the Eugenio Monti track in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. This competition also marked the commencement of the skeleton World Cup for the Olympic season.
Yin Zheng of China claimed the third spot, finishing 0.18 seconds behind Weston, after setting a new track record of 56.79 seconds in the initial run. Lukas Nydegger, the junior world champion from Germany, achieved his best World Cup performance by securing fourth place, narrowly missing a podium finish by 0.05 seconds. The highest-ranking American participant was Austin Florian, who finished in 10th place, while hometown favorite Mattia Gaspari of Italy finished in 17th position.
In the women’s category, Jaqcueline Pfeifer celebrated her first World Cup victory in nearly five years, edging out her German teammate and Olympic champion Hannah Neise by 0.23 seconds. Kim Meylemans of Belgium secured the third position, trailing by 0.32 seconds.
A mixed team competition was slated for later on Friday, with bobsled races scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. Although the competitive section of the Cortina track is operational, the surrounding infrastructure is still under construction, and spectators were not permitted at the test event. Despite suggestions from the International Olympic Committee to hold sliding events in neighboring Austria or Switzerland due to the closure of the Cortina track in 2008, the Italian government proceeded with a 118 million euros ($136 million) renovation of the venue. The Winter Olympics are set to take place from February 6 to 22.
