Winter Olympic Games Milano-Cortina 2026 News

[heywoodu 13,536]

56 minutes ago, Monzanator said:

Yeah, more mixed nonsense. Rich have to get richer after all Not gonna say what the level in women's nordic combined will be. Probably extremely low given how Geraghty-Moats was able to dominate until recently despite being a very mediocre ski jumper.

To be fair, women's Nordic combined in 2022 would have been way too early, but 2026 isn't that bad. There has been a World Cup circuit for a few years by then, and it is definitely developing, no matter how you look at it. Honestly I think 2026 is the best moment to make it Olympic. Something like 2028 might be a tad better, but we'd need another pandemic to have Winter Olympics that year  

[heywoodu 13,536]

17 minutes ago, phelps said:

nowadays it's Norway dominating from the hill and on the skis (with the Italian Sieff being the best of the rest among the good jumpers and the Slovenian Volavsek being the best of the rest among the skiing specialists...and all the Japanese team growing very quickly)...

And with Anju Nakamura of the mentioned Japanese team nowadays being the best skier in the entire field, by some distance. It's most certainly developing.

 

Dual moguls is like keeping the 100m in athletics, but also adding a 100m head-to-head event with a knockout format  

[Monzanator 3,591]

9 hours ago, phelps said:

Geraghty-Moats times are way gone...

 

nowadays it's Norway dominating from the hill and on the skis (with the Italian Sieff being the best of the rest among the good jumpers and the Slovenian Volavsek being the best of the rest among the skiing specialists...and all the Japanese team growing very quickly)...

 

early starters have no chance anymore already...

 

I'm pretty sure in 4 years time we're gonna have an interesting event, possibly even more than the men's...

 

the true scandal are those mixed team events in skicross and slalom snowboarding (and the dual moguls, which is basically a double chance for the same skiers)...

Yeah, I know Geraghty-Moats craze is over. Meanwhile Norway of all coutries is set to dominate women's NC in the near future. If Norway winning extra golds in nordic skiing isn't a textbook example of rich getting richer I don't know what else is?

 

9 hours ago, NearPup said:

Just to clarify, this appears to be dual moguls (as in men's and women's dual moguls, not a team event).

 

  

Well the level in women's ski jumping increased extremely quickly after Olympic inclusion so I assume the same will happen here, though obviously the level in men's Nordic Combined is itself very low as is.

 

 

Well, USA and France are two coutries that have regressed in the last decade. USA dropped from a powerhouse to a complete pariah. Italy is stuck in the mud save for the Malsiner sisters. The same countries that are dominating in the men's are doing so in the women's: Norway, Austria, Slovenia, Japan & Germany. Poland is terrible among the women due to our federation not giving a damn and hiring Kruczek as HC which is nonsense. We can add two Canadians, Westman & Haralambie and that would be that when it comes to depth. Finland & Czechia remain uncompetitive the same way their men are right now. Obviously Russia is off the table right now and they were pretty much the 5th-6th best team based on depth.

[hckošice 13,206]

IIHF´s deadline for NHLers final participation decision is by Spring 2024 https://www.espn.com/olympics/hockey/story/_/id/35386713/iihf-wants-nhl-decide-2026-olympics-spring-2024

 

Remember this year after the WCh we will know the 8 pre-qualified Nations for the M Ice Hockey Tournament based on this June´s IIHF World Ranking.

 

 

Edited January 6, 2023 by hckošice

[phelps 6,748]

now it's official.

 

earlier Today, a press conference was held in Baselga di Pinè to announce that the Olympic Speedskating tournament in 2026 will NOT be hosted by the small village in the North of Italy.

 

the increased cost, the opposition of the local community and our usual political sh*t won the fight and force the Milano-Cortina 2026 organizing committee to scratch this venue because any necessary renovation work is impossible to be done.

 

now they will have to find (quickly, I hope) a new venue for the sport: they said they will evaluate all the chances, but in the end the only possible venues are the good old Exhibition Halls in Turin (Lingotto) and Milan (the new Exhibition Area in Rho-Pero and the most fascinating Palazzo delle Scintille, the only remaining pavillion from the old Exhibition Center in the center of the city).

 

I don't see any other place capable of hosting that event with such short time to set it up.

 

p.s. if only those idiots decided since the beginning to build a new permanent Oval in Milan, just beside the Forum (the Arena that will host Figure Skating and Short Track Speedskating in 2026), where they have plenty of space, instead of searching for utopian projects... 

Edited January 20, 2023 by phelps

[phelps 6,748]

as of Today, February 1st 2023 in Milan...

 

the most credited Italian Wintersports journalists/commentator, Massimiliano "Max" Ambesi, took a tour of the 2 sites in the city of Milan where the 2 Hockey arenas should be built.

 

here is what he found out and wrote about that.

 

the photos are only about the place where the "small" Hockey arena should be in place in less than 3 years (it's an abandoned area where previously a basketball/volleyball/concerts center then a circus used to be), there are no pictures of the area where the main hall should be built.

 

 

this is a quick translation (made with google translate...you know, I'm lazy and I didn't want to wast too much time  ) of Ambesi's post. 

 

"(Earlier) this morning, I went to Lampugnano, a "charming"* Milanese district where one of the ice arenas to host the hockey matches of the upcoming 2026 Olympic Games should be built.

 

The cross-section I came across turned out to be bleak.

 

Rodents and dirt aside, not only has the old structure not yet been demolished, but there is not even the slightest shadow of a construction site.

 

Furthermore, there is no indication on site relating to the Olympic destination of the area, but, from what has been learned, thanks to some shortcomings with respect to the legitimate requests of the IOC, a definitive project has not yet been approved.

 

The only positive note is represented by the proximity to the subway stop and a busy terminus of interregional bus lines.

 

Rather perplexed by what I observed, I set off in the direction of Milan Santa Giulia, hoping that works on the new Palazzo dello Sport with almost twenty thousand seats had already begun.

 

Thanks to lucky coincidences with the various subway lines, the transfer took less than 50 minutes, all in all a positive fact.

 

In this case, despite the fact that the long pedestrian area between the Rogoredo station and the Sports Arena area has been completed for some time now, the foundation stone of the facility is far from being laid yet and, with the exception of the fence of the vast area, the works still appear to be at a standstill.

 

Considering that in 2025, both structures will have to be put to the test with the ritual test competitions, in jargon "test event", time runs the risk of running out, it being understood that, as far as Lampugnano is concerned, ideas appear rather confused.

 

In light of the situation, those in charge will have to be ready as well as educated because, sooner or later, the generalist press will begin to ask a long series of questions and it will be necessary to provide all the necessary explanations.

 

All that remains is to cross your fingers and hope for a happy ending.

 

In the meantime, Turin remains at the window…

 

The invitation is to share the post so that the situation can become public knowledge.

 

Massimiliano Ambesi"

 

*"charming" applied to that district must be intended as pure sarcasm...that area is everything but "charming". 

[Olympian1010 7,465]

Organizers seem to be teasing some sort of announcement for tomorrow night at Sanremo…

 

[canadafan2024 106]

https://olympics.com/en/news/milano-cortina-2026-public-poll-official-mascots-sanremo

 

(I like the flowers)

Edited February 9, 2023 by canadafan2024

[Olympian1010 7,465]

6 minutes ago, canadafan2024 said:

https://olympics.com/en/news/milano-cortina-2026-public-poll-official-mascots-sanremo

 

(I like the flowers)

These are both pretty good. Much better options than the logo vote.

[Monzanator 3,591]

The renovated Trampolino Dal Ben ski jumping complex is projected to have HS 143 which would make it the second biggest large hill in operation (after Willingen HS 147). I assume they want to push the 150 meter jumps if possible. Normal hill will be HS 109.

 

LH record on the current/soon old HS 134 is 138.5 meters by Eric Frenzel (nordic combined).