ITALY: WINTER OLYMPICS: Italian medal hope Armin Zoeggeler in Winter Olympics tests the luge track

Record ID: 332114

  • Title: ITALY: WINTER OLYMPICS: Italian medal hope Armin Zoeggeler in Winter Olympics tests the luge track
  • Date: 20th November 2005
  • Summary: SESTRIERE, ITALY (RECENT) (REUTERS) DOWNHILL SKI SLOPE WITHOUT SNOW VARIOUS SKI SLOPES WITHOUT SNOW, BUILDING WORKS AT BOTTOM VARIOUS OF OLYMPIC VILLAGE BUILDING WORK UNDER WAY BUILDING WORK CONTINUING AT OLYMPIC VILLAGE
  • Embargoed: 5th December 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVAE13D3XSX4E97KF7V5HEJ0GM9Z
  • Story Text: With less than three months to go before the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, most competition venues are ready, but work is still under way on the athletes' villages.
    The ski slopes currently have only a light covering of snow.
    Around 5,000 competitors are expected at the games from February 10-26, yet building work is far from complete in the mountains above the north Italian city.
    Cranes, diggers and cement mixers rumble away in an effort to finish the Olympic villages.
    But most of the venues have been completed and Italy's great medal hope in the luge, former Olympic gold medallist and five times world champion Armin Zoeggeler, has been testing the futuristic track at Cesana Pariol.
    The bobsleigh and luge track cost around 77 million euros and incorporates several new design features.
    The weather protection blinds have been built low so that spectators can see the entire track. There will be around 2,000 seats in the braking lane beyond the finish line and the site includes a gym and warm-up area for the athletes.
    "We are now in the Olympic season but it is a normal season for me I'm trying to prepare myself properly," said Zoeggeler when testing.
    "Up until now the physical preparation has gone well and the training on the ice could have gone a bit better but I am pretty happy with it so far."
    Referring to the Olympic course, Zoeggeller said: "They have built the track slightly differently from last year, they have modified the 18th and 17th curves and now everything should be fine."
    The 31-year-old Italian was born in the northern mountain regions and said that taking part in a sport such as the luge was not an unusual decision at all.
    "I was born and I live in Alto Adige and it is a tradition for us to use a sled -- I was born on it," Zoeggeler explained.
    "I started using it to go to school because there was always heavy snow on the road -- and everything began from there."
    The track was hosting a World Cup competition on Saturday and Sunday (November 19 and 20).
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