Lake Placid Not Needed for 2026 Winter Olympic Games
The sliding facilities in Cortina, Italy, will be ready on time.
Bobsled fly down Mt. Van Hoevenberg’s track, one of the most challenging in the world.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee informed the Olympic Regional Development Authority in Lake Placid that the bobsled, luge and skeleton track at Mt. Van Hoevenberg – used for the 1932 and 1980 Olympic Winter Games – will not be needed for the 2026 Winter Games.
Lake Placid was selected as the backup site if the track reconstruction in Cortina d’Ampezzo was not finished in time. The sliding track in Cortina underwent a $128 million renovation.
U.S. two-man bobsledders.
After several tests by the International Committee, Italy’s renovated track passed inspection successfully, and the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation has already scheduled it for pre-season events.
ORDA Communications Director Darcy Rowe Norfolk told NBC News that the decision was passed on from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, following the Olympic protocol channels. She added:
“To even get to a position where we were designated as plan B was an incredible honor. It really kind of showcases our region in terms of being entrusted within the Olympic movement to be able to fulfill such a high level of sport at an Olympic level.“
Mount Van Hoevenberg would have been next to host the events if the Italian sliding track had failed.
Rowe Norfolk says ORDA is ready for the potential of future collaborations as a former host city. According to the Albany Times Union, the state of New York has invested more than half a billion dollars over the past eight years in updating and rehabilitating its winter sports venues, which include the Olympic Sports Complex and Olympic Jumping Complex in Lake Placid and the Gore, Whiteface and Belleayre mountain ski centers.
Now that’s one scary skeleton.
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