The Fort Worth Press - Lake Placid chosen as Olympic venue super sub if gamble on Cortina backfires

USD -
AED 3.67303
AFN 71.599175
ALL 89.820766
AMD 390.941942
ANG 1.790208
AOA 917.000243
ARS 1072.888667
AUD 1.572405
AWG 1.8025
AZN 1.698954
BAM 1.76965
BBD 2.018852
BDT 121.490381
BGN 1.76765
BHD 0.376899
BIF 2971.412031
BMD 1
BND 1.336041
BOB 6.909374
BRL 5.625034
BSD 0.999882
BTN 85.35415
BWP 13.837644
BYN 3.27212
BYR 19600
BZD 2.008449
CAD 1.409015
CDF 2870.999878
CHF 0.859598
CLF 0.024772
CLP 950.739812
CNY 7.268103
CNH 7.304845
COP 4151.25
CRC 503.785857
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 99.772884
CZK 22.504023
DJF 178.067691
DKK 6.723962
DOP 63.146562
DZD 133.108885
EGP 50.605798
ERN 15
ETB 131.629679
EUR 0.901205
FJD 2.32785
FKP 0.770718
GBP 0.75848
GEL 2.759834
GGP 0.770718
GHS 15.499724
GIP 0.770718
GMD 71.49594
GNF 8653.91575
GTQ 7.717987
GYD 209.208276
HKD 7.77805
HNL 25.583405
HRK 6.789296
HTG 130.847209
HUF 361.878501
IDR 16748.1
ILS 3.687855
IMP 0.770718
INR 85.28355
IQD 1309.884065
IRR 42112.498291
ISK 130.419764
JEP 0.770718
JMD 157.516863
JOD 0.7089
JPY 146.14799
KES 129.229747
KGS 86.7116
KHR 3999.43912
KMF 453.49908
KPW 900.05404
KRW 1456.869851
KWD 0.30764
KYD 0.833171
KZT 501.205299
LAK 21663.605685
LBP 89597.126598
LKR 296.939597
LRD 199.957487
LSL 18.847935
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.836163
MAD 9.511668
MDL 17.855608
MGA 4560.216386
MKD 55.670915
MMK 2099.453956
MNT 3493.458295
MOP 8.011833
MRU 39.737999
MUR 45.369834
MVR 15.409734
MWK 1733.993178
MXN 20.02645
MYR 4.441965
MZN 63.90424
NAD 18.847168
NGN 1536.390106
NIO 36.791113
NOK 10.29447
NPR 136.568929
NZD 1.71637
OMR 0.384994
PAB 0.999991
PEN 3.671512
PGK 4.125987
PHP 57.036972
PKR 280.480934
PLN 3.78148
PYG 8022.689338
QAR 3.645527
RON 4.486702
RSD 105.600993
RUB 83.927623
RWF 1426.639591
SAR 3.752124
SBD 8.326764
SCR 14.352067
SDG 600.464817
SEK 9.66151
SGD 1.334025
SHP 0.785843
SLE 22.829673
SLL 20969.501083
SOS 571.397559
SRD 36.599499
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.749819
SYP 13002.701498
SZL 18.854832
THB 34.309963
TJS 10.884639
TMT 3.51
TND 3.059678
TOP 2.342103
TRY 37.9358
TTD 6.779262
TWD 33.1078
TZS 2648.708046
UAH 41.283671
UGX 3643.830907
UYU 42.241161
UZS 12914.812
VES 69.926611
VND 25805
VUV 123.569394
WST 2.832833
XAF 593.408751
XAG 0.030912
XAU 0.000323
XCD 2.70255
XDR 0.749131
XOF 593.500025
XPF 107.897332
YER 245.650069
ZAR 18.88127
ZMK 9001.193505
ZMW 27.774109
ZWL 321.999592
  • CMSD

    0.0100

    22.83

    +0.04%

  • CMSC

    0.0600

    22.5

    +0.27%

  • NGG

    0.0000

    65.78

    0%

  • GSK

    -0.2300

    37.64

    -0.61%

  • RBGPF

    67.7200

    67.72

    +100%

  • BTI

    -0.8500

    40.25

    -2.11%

  • RIO

    -0.3300

    59.9

    -0.55%

  • SCS

    0.1400

    11.46

    +1.22%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    9.77

    -0.1%

  • RELX

    0.3100

    50.98

    +0.61%

  • BCC

    3.1600

    102.07

    +3.1%

  • BCE

    -0.9600

    21.82

    -4.4%

  • JRI

    0.0600

    13.04

    +0.46%

  • VOD

    -0.1500

    9.12

    -1.64%

  • AZN

    -0.3800

    72.22

    -0.53%

  • BP

    0.0000

    33.81

    0%

Lake Placid chosen as Olympic venue super sub if gamble on Cortina backfires
Lake Placid chosen as Olympic venue super sub if gamble on Cortina backfires / Photo: © AFP

Lake Placid chosen as Olympic venue super sub if gamble on Cortina backfires

Italian 2026 Winter Olympic organisers named American ski resort Lake Placid as their "Plan B" on Friday should work on the new bobsleigh slope at Cortina d'Ampezzo not be ready in time.

Text size:

The next Games is spread over two venues, with Milan hosting the ski events and Cortina the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton competitions.

After concerns, Cortina is officially back on track to confound doubters and win its race to be completed for the upcoming Olympics only 13 months away.

The more upbeat vibe around Cortina will come as a relief to all Italian fans of winter sliding sports, and also the Italian government led by Giorgia Meloni.

After initially picking Cortina d'Ampezzo following the awarding of the 2026 Winter Games to Italy, work only began on the slope last February, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) warning that no such venue had ever been built "in such a short time".

Cortina's role as a 2026 venue was in major doubt when financial backing failed to appear after it was chosen to be one of the two venues for the next Games.

That forced organisers back in October 2023 to concede defeat and -- in a first in the history of the Winter Games -- start looking at hosting the bobsleigh and the other two sports in a different country.

That eventuality now looks to have been averted despite the precautionary naming of two-time former Winter Olympic venue Lake Placid as Cortina's emergency back up plan.

"Lake Placid is our official plan B," the 2026 organisers confirmed.

"But only in the event that we can't go to Cortina, a situation that has been ruled out by the reassuring information that continues to come in on the progress of the work."

Despite its vastly shorter timeframe to be completed for the Games work is bang on schedule, with 67 percent completed, assured Simico, the company overseeing the Olympic's construction projects, last month.

They added they were on target to get the slope provisionally cleared for use in March.

Lake Placid, 6000 kilometres from Cortina in New York State, has already held the Winter Games in 1932 and 1980.

Organisers of the 2026 edition of the winter sporting feast were only obliged to name an alternative venue as the practice stipulated in IOC rules.

Lake Placid in New York state was chosen as a super-sub ahead of two closer to home options - Swiss ski resort St Moritz and Innsbruck in Austria.

L.Coleman--TFWP