Cesana Pariol was the venue for

bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of 2 to 4 athletes make timed speed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobslei ...

, luge and skeleton during the 2006 Winter Olympics in

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Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. The track, built for the games, is located in Cesana Torinese. The venue holds approximately 7,130 spectators, of whom 3,624 are seated.

Construction details

The track is constructed with about of ammonia

refrigeration Refrigeration is any of various types of cooling of a space, substance, or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one (while the removed heat is ejected to a place of higher temperature).IIR International Dictionary of ...

pipes to help form ice on the track for proper sliding. Numerous sensors located along the track ensure that the ice's thickness is kept between to keep the track properly smooth during competitions.

History

During

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

of the track prior to the 2006 games, there was concern that the track would be completed in time for

homologation Homologation (Greek language, Greek ''homologeo'', ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an official authority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would n ...

. An archaeological find (a small part of a Roman ruins) during construction slowed progress until the remains were excavated (near the current Turn 11). The track was completed on end of 2004. In January 2005, the FIBT and FIL held their homologation events at the track. The FIBT had no issue when they ran their events during the weekend of 21–23 January 2005. The following week, the FIL ran their events, and had several crashes. Included in the crashes were

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

's Wolfgang Linger (broken ankle and calfbone),

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

's Renato Mizoguchi (medically induced coma), and the U.S. Virgin Islands' Anne Abernathy (collarbone). During the summer of 2005, discussions were held among TOROC (the organizer of the 2006 Games), FIBT President Robert H. Storey (

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

), and FIL President Josef Fendt (

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) about refitting the track for safety reasons. An agreement was reached by all three, and turns 16 through 18 were modified as such. The track was finally modified in late 2005 in time for homologation. Test runs done by Italy's Armin Zöggeler in late October 2005 led to the track being homologated on 31 October 2005 after it had been approved by former German national team coach Josef Lenz and FIL track commission chair Klaus Bonsack. Cesana Pariol is now part of the complex called Torino Olympic Park. Post-Olympic usage for the tracks includes bobsleigh and luge rides for the public. In October 2009, problems with early refrigeration of the track led the Bob- und Schlittenverband für Deutschland in

to lend support of short-order auxiliary services for foreign teams on such short notice. Starting 16 October, Italy and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

's teams trained at the track in Winterberg while

's team trained at Königssee's track. The track was scheduled to host events in 2011–12, but was shut down due to economic costs. After pressure from the FIBT and FIL in early 2012, the track was scheduled to run in 2012-13 only to be shut down again. In October 2012, the track was ordered to be dismantled by Cesana officials. The 45 tons of ammonia was moved from the track's refrigeration for other uses within the Turin region. However, during the 2014 Winter Olympics, President of the CONI, Giovanni Malagò, expressed the intention to ensure new investments to keep the track open. The track was considered for renovation for the 2026 Winter Olympics to be used for the sliding events, as the CONI was having trouble finding a venue for them. The plans were turned down after an Italian construction company offered an €81.6 million bid to rebuild the Eugenio Monti olympic track in

Cortina d'Ampezzo Cortina d'Ampezzo (; , ; historical ) sometimes abbreviated to simply Cortina, is a town and ''comune'' in the heart of the southern (Dolomites, Dolomitic) Alps in the province of Belluno, in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the ...

used in the

1956 Winter Olympics The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 ( or ), were a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Cortina, which ...

Statistics

The venue includes a vertical drop of 114 meters from start to finish.

Championships hosted

* 2006 Winter Olympics * FIL European Luge Championships: 2008 * FIL World Luge Championships:

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Notes

References

2006 Winter Olympics official report.
Volume 3. pp. 61–3.

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071219040832/http://www.discoverychannel.co.uk/machines_and_engineering/winter_games/bob_sleigh/index.shtml Discovery Channel.co.uk article on the track construction prior to the 2006 games]
FIBT.com profile
- Click on video clip of this run from a bobsleigh perspective. Men's single luge start house is shown on the left at the start of the run while the women's singles and men's doubles luge entrance appears after the third turn.

at the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (19 October 2009 accessed 2 December 2009.) * [http://www.fil-luge.org/News-Detail.155.0.html?&tx_ttnews%5BpS%5D=1117576800&tx_ttnews%5BpL%5D=2591999&tx_ttnews%5Barc%5D=1&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=687&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=157&cHash=ca3dcc9348 FIBT President Storey and FIL President Fendt: "Olympic Track Summitt" in Berchtesgaden] at the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (6 June 2005 article accessed 2 December 2009.)
2006 Olympic Track in Cesana Pariol homologated by FIL.
at the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (31 October 2005 article accessed 2 December 2009.)
Jubilee Congress awards 2011 World Championships to Cesana-Pariol.
at the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (23 June 2007 article accessed 2 December 2009. Also mentions 2008 European championships.)
FIL-Luge track profile

at the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (2 February 2005 article accessed 2 December 2009.) * ttps://www.usatoday.com/sports/graphics/torino2006_multimedia/cesana_pariol.htm US Slider Tony Benshoff (Luge) describes parts of the track during a typical run.
Executive Committee meets Torino's organisers for the Olympic Games.
at the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (29 September 2004 article accessed 2 December 2009.)
Torino Olympic Park listing of public bobsleigh rides.

Torino Olympic Park listing of monobob rides.

External links

* {{coord, 44.952346, 6.805147, type:landmark, display=title Venues of the 2006 Winter Olympics Defunct sports venues in Italy Olympic bobsleigh venues Olympic luge venues Olympic skeleton venues Bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton tracks Cesana Torinese