Milan-Cortina, time kept in Trentino

Jump and Nordic combined athletes, on Monday 14 July, tested for the first time the ski-jump of Predazzo, in Val di Fiemme, a strategic work in view of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games. In fact, the Azzurri, led by Annika Sieff from Fiemme, inaugurated the new HS143 and HS109 ski jumps, respectively 290 and 260 metres long, which have just been renovated thanks to the investments for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games managed by the Autonomous Province of Trento, in conjunction with the State, the MIT, and the municipalities in the area involved. The Ski Jump Stadium in Predazzo, originally called the 'Giuseppe Dal Ben' Ski Jump, considered among the best in the world in the sector, became famous in 1991 with the first edition of the Nordic Skiing World Championships, when it hosted the Special Jump and Nordic Combined competitions. The World Championships were also held in Val di Fiemme in 2003 and 2013. The stadium, which includes a total of 6 ski jumps, annually hosts World Cup competitions and, in 2013, was the venue for the XXVI Winter Universiade 'Trentino 2013' . However, after more than 30 years of honourable service, in view of the 2026 Olympics, it required a major upgrade. "Thanks to the athletes for the exciting event, but also to all those who have worked hard to modernise these facilities, which are fundamental for Trentino's participation in the 2026 Winter Games," explained the President of the Autonomous Province of Trento, Maurizio Fugatti , during the inauguration ceremony with satisfaction. "Today we are touching with our own hands the ability of our territory to put on the ground the interventions for the 2026 Winter Games, a commitment that comes from afar, in the will to believe in the great Olympic and Paralympic event. Let us remember, in fact, that interventions for an updated value in the order of 450 million have been put in the field, of which about 315 million are resources coming from the State,' Fugatti specified. "These investments are also important for the aftermath, for the next important events that will involve Trentino, starting with the 2028 Winter Youth Games". In general, Val di Fiemme represents one of the main Olympic poles of Milan-Cortina 2026, with the stadium in Predazzo and the one in Tesero, where in the setting of the former 'Fabio Canal' centre the Olympic cross-country skiing competitions and the 'cross-country' part of the Nordic combined will take place (thanks to the artificial snow and the new lighting, made with provincial funding), for a total of 59 competitions: 21 Olympic plus 38 Paralympic. In contrast to other Olympic facilities currently under construction (e.g. the 'Santa Giulia' arena in Milan, the bobsleigh track in Cortina and many connecting road infrastructures, both in Lombardy and Veneto), the two upgrades in Predazzo and Tesero, which began between the summers of 2022 and 2023 with the aim of bringing the facilities up to Olympic standards, are practically being completed on schedule. In the first case with the inauguration of the jumping stadium on 14 July; in the second case with the changing rooms and the new slopes already completed and tested during the 'Tour de Ski' in January 2025 and, in the spring, with the implementation of the new snowmaking and lighting system. "Trentino is running well, with construction sites that are proceeding apace: from the new facilities in Predazzo to the Olympic pavilion, from the facilities in Tesero to the hospitality organisation, everything is proceeding according to the pre-defined plans," concluded the President of the Autonomous Province.