Eugenio Monti olympic track
Full name | Pista olimpica Eugenio Monti |
---|---|
Address | via Ronco |
Location | Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy |
Owner | Comune di Cortina d'Ampezzo |
Operator | Bob Club Cortina |
Surface | Artificial-refrigerated concrete |
Construction | |
Broke ground | 1923 |
Opened | 1923 |
Renovated | 1936, 1948, 1956, 1981, 2026 |
Closed | 2008 |
The Eugenio Monti Olympic Track (
History
Bobsleigh at Cortina d'Ampezzo was introduced in 1905-6 using a snow-covered road on the Dolomite Road between Cortina and Pocol.[2] An attempt was made in 1911 to build an artificial bobsleigh run near the centre of Cortina, but that failed due to funding issues.[2] By 1923, a new track 1200 metres in length, was constructed in Ronco, a village near Cortina on the Dolomite Road laid with special water piping constructed into the earth and covered with turf to allow for track freezing.[2]
The track made its international debut in 1928 at the International University Winter Games (forerunner of the Winter
When the
The track played a key role in improving bobsleigh safety when
By
On October 16, 2023 it was reported that the track will not be rebuilt to host the Olympic Winter Games, as no qualifying construction bids were submitted. The sliding sport portion of the 2026 Games will be held outside of Italy.
Track statistics
The track used for the 1956 Winter Olympics had 16 curves that was 1,700 meters long with an elevation difference of 152 meters.[2] Turns 3 and 5 were not named.
Turn Number | Name | Reason named |
---|---|---|
1. | Partenza | "Departure" or "start" in Italian |
2. | Vecchia | " Erich Kriegler (John Wyman ) and his henchmen.
|
4. | Sties | |
6. | Verzi | |
7. | Sento | "Feeling curve" in Italian |
8., 9., 10. | Labirinto | "Labyrinth" in Italian |
11. | Belvedere | "Lookout" in Italian. Also for a small town near the track. |
12. | Bandion | After a small town near the track. |
13. | Rettifilo Antelao | "Straightaway before Antelao" |
14. | Antelao | After the highest mountain in the eastern Dolomites, South-East of Cortina. |
15. | Cristallo | "Crystal" in Italian. Name of another Peak, North-East of the town of Cortina. In the 1981 film For Your Eyes Only, Bond leaps from this corner of the track to escape from Kreigler. |
16. | Arrivo | "Finish" in Italian |
Following the 1981 FIBT World Championships, the track was shortened to 1350 meters in length with 13 curves, an elevation drop of 120.45 meters, a maximum grade of 15.9%, and an average grade of 9.3%.[15][16]
Turn Number | Name | Reason named |
---|---|---|
1. | Verzi | |
2. | Rettifilo Sento | "Straightaway before Sento" |
3. | Sento | |
4., 5., 6. | Labrinto | |
7. | Belvedere | |
8. | Bandion | |
9. | Rettifilo Antelao | |
10. | Antelao | |
11. | Cristallo | |
12. | Curva Valletta | "Valletta Curve" |
13. | Arrivo |
Sport | Record | Nation - athlete(s) | Date | Time (seconds) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bobsleigh two-man | Start | Canada - Pierre Lueders & Giulio Zardo | January 19, 2002 | 4.84 |
Bobsleigh two-man | Track | Germany - Thomas Florschütz & Sascha Scheleter | January 12, 2006 | 52.80 |
Bobsleigh four-man | Start | Cedric Grand
|
December 19, 2004 | 4.74 |
Bobsleigh four-man | Track | Christophe Fourquet, & Max Robert
|
January 16, 2000 | 51.96 |
Bobsleigh two-woman | Start | Canada - Helen Upperton & Jennifer Ciochetti | January 12, 2007 | 5.29 |
Bobsleigh two-woman | Track | Germany - Sandra Kiriasis & Romy Logsch | January 12, 2007 | 54.60 |
Championships hosted
- Winter Olympics: 1956
- (Bobsleigh only)
- Bobsleigh European Championship: 1965, 1970, 1982, 2000, 2002, 2007
- Bobsleigh Italian Championship: 1930, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008
Gallery
-
San Marino 1956 stamp
-
Henry Taylor driving a Ford Cortina down the bobsleigh run (auto-bobbing)
See also
References
- ^ "Cortina Impianti sportivi" (in Italian). cortina.dolomiti.org. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 1956 Winter Olympic Games official report. pp. 175-9. (in English and Italian) Archived 26 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d List of two-man bobsleigh world championship medalists since 1931. Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b List of four-man bobsleigh world championship medalists since 1930. Archived December 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ *Adirondack Daily Enterprise, New York article on Capadrutt's romance to Betty Hood. - accessed November 28, 2007
- ^ "The Deadly Zig-Zag". Time. March 4, 1966. (Pensperger's death is mentioned.)
- ^ Bunksplace.com article on the Morgan death during the 1981 FIBT World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. - Accessed January 21, 2008.
- Morgan, John. "Re:Cortina track and For Your Eyes Only" E-mail to Chris Miller. May 4, 2007.
- ^ For Your Eyes Only production notes featuring the Cortina track[permanent dead link]
- ^ Bob Club Cortina official website
- ^ FIBT awards 2011 championships to Cortina d'Ampezzo - deadlink from www.bobsleigh.com
- ^ Viessman World Cup Resumes in Cortina at the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (January 9, 2008, article on 2007-08 Bobsleigh World Cup that did not include skeleton. Accessed December 2, 2009.)
- ^ Königssee to Host 2011 FIBT World Championship at the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (February 28, 2009, accessed December 2, 2009.)
- ^ Dolomiti.org track profile.
- ^ FIBT track profile Archived July 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Bob Club Cortina track map(in Italian)
External links
- FIBT track profile - Track diagram shown is the track prior to its reconfiguration in 1981 though video image shown is for track in its current configuration.
- Official website
- Eugenio Monti olympic track today in sofiapodesta.com (in English)