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While the Olympic slopes on the Tofane gleam under the jagged Dolomite peaks, the scene changes abruptly when you turn around.
There is a cacophony of noise as piles of gravel are being excavated, while tractors grind across muddy access roads and contractors buzz around like busy bees just metres from the finish area, with action due to begin in three days.
In Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, preparations for the Winter Olympics remain visibly unfinished, underlining the pressure organizers are facing as the curling tournament starts Wednesday and the first women’s downhill training is scheduled for Thursday.
The chaos reflects a broader pattern in Cortina d’Ampezzo, where organizers have won one race against time but lost another.
A brand-new sliding centre was completed just in time for the opening of the Games, despite pressure from the International Olympic Committee several years ago to relocate the events to an existing venue abroad to save time and money.
By contrast, a cable car intended to carry spectators to the women’s Olympic Alpine skiing events on the Tofane will not be ready in time, prompting organizers to ask for temporary school closures in Cortina to ease pressure on the Dolomite resort’s already strained transport system.
“Do we have every single space finished? No. But no one’s experience will be tainted by something that needs to be painted or carpeted after the Games,” Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi said on Sunday.
“Anything the athletes need, it’s absolutely done. Do we still have work? Yes. Cleaning? Yes. Work inside and outside [to do] to make it beautiful. The work is frantic, but it started very late.”
IOC president Kirsty Coventry, however, said that “we are where we need to be”.
The Milano Cortina organizing committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Competition runs Feb. 6-22 in the most spread out Games in Olympics history with nearly 3,000 athletes from 93 countries dispersed in six Olympic villages across 22,000 square kilometres in Northern Italy.
They will compete in 116 events on ice and snow, in eight sports and 16 disciplines.
Veteran Olympic skiers Mikaël Kingsbury and Marielle Thompson have been named Canada’s flag-bearers for the Milano-Cortina Games opening ceremony on Feb. 6.
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