OLYMPICS: Luge-First training run shows testing nature of new Cortina track

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy – Luge athletes got their first real feel of the Cortina Olympic track on Wednesday, showing immediately just how technical the new course will be for all three sliding sports.

The track, named after Italian double Olympic bobsleigh champion Eugenio Monti, honors his 1968 gold medals and the two silvers he won at the 1956 Cortina Games on the original track.

While some athletes tested the track during a November event, many were seeing it for the first time on Wednesday. After a one-hour delay due to a power issue, 25 competitors took their turns on the 1,700-meter track, which is largely sheltered from the elements.

Germany has long dominated Olympic luge since joining in 1964, but it was Austria’s Jonas Mueller who led the first run, just ahead of 2022 silver medalist Wolfgang Kindl. In the second run, Italy’s home favorite and Beijing bronze medalist Dominik Fischnaller took the lead as temperatures dropped.

“People have said it’s an easy track, but there are some parts that are really difficult,” Kindl told Reuters. “Curve four, curve 11, it’s hard to be fast, and I had some problems today with the setup. We’re fighting for thousandths, so maybe we’ll try something different tomorrow.”

Kindl also cautioned against reading too much into slower times from some of the favorites. “We’re always fast in training, but some of the people—yes, the Germans—they’re holding something back,” he said.

American athlete Jonathan Gustafson praised the track’s condition but noted challenges in the early sections. “It was smooth in November, but somehow they’ve made it smoother—it feels good,” he said. “You’re trying to figure out changes between runs, and everyone will try to make adjustments for the next runs.”

Former British Olympic bobsledder Lamin Deen, in Cortina as a TNT pundit, described the track as “very, very technical.”

“If you are not consistent and make a mistake in corners one to five, it can throw your whole race,” Deen said. “You can’t make that time up because the speed is so slow, and it’s so technical that by the time you reach corner six, you could pretty much get out and walk because it’s slowed you down that much—especially in the women’s monobob, where there isn’t a lot of weight.”

After several more days of training, competition begins with the first two runs of the men’s singles on Saturday. The final two runs and medal decisions will take place on Sunday.

-Reporting by Mitch Phillips; Editing by Toby Davis/Reuters