Cesana Pariol

 ( Venues Of The 2006 Winter Olympics ) 

Cesana Pariol was the venue for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The track, built for the games, is located in Cesana Torinese. The venue holds approximately 7,130 spectators, of whom 3,624 are seated.

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Construction details The track is constructed with about of ammonia refrigeration 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.

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History During construction of the track prior to the 2006 games, there was concern that the track would be completed in time for homologation. 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's Wolfgang Linger (broken ankle and calfbone), Brazil'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), and FIL President Josef Fendt (Germany) 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 Germany 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 Germany to lend support of short-order auxiliary services for foreign teams on such short notice. Starting 16 October, Italy and Japan's teams trained at the track in Winterberg while Austria'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 used in the 1956 Winter Olympics.

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Statistics

+Physical statistics ! Sport ! Length of track (meters) ! Number of turns
Bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge - men's singles	1435	19 (11 left and 8 right)
Luge - women's singles and men's doubles	1233	17 (9 left and 8 right)

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

+Turns ! Turn Number ! Name ! Reason named
1.	Champlas	Local town near the track.
2.	Gancio	Italian for ""
3.	Il Muro	Italian for "The Wall". Women's singles and men's double luge have their start house after this turn.
4., 5.		Italian for "Twins".
6., 7., 8.	Toro	Italian for "Bull". Also for the toroid or torus shape of these three turns. It is also an Omega-shaped curve.
9.	Cesana Torinese	The comune where the track is located.
10.	Nino Bibbia	1948 Winter Olympics gold medalist in skeleton at St. Moritz. Italy's first gold medalist in bobsled, luge, or skeleton, and its first-ever Winter Olympic medalist.
11.	Museo	Italian for "Museum". An archeological find was found near this turn during track construction.
12., 13.	Chicane	Shape of these curves.
14.	Chaberton	After the Chaberton Mountains that the inside of this curve faces.
15.	Lavatrice	Italian for "Washing machine"
16.	Compressione	Italian for "Compression". From the compressive forces put upon the body during the maneuvering of the sled through the turn.
17.	Paul Hildgartner	Formerly "Senza Nome" ("Without Name" in ). Named for luger who won four Winter Olympic, five world championship, and six European championship medals between 1971 and 1988. Among first inductees in FIL Hall of Fame in 2004.
18.	Pariol	The village in Cesana where the track is located.
19.	Eugenio Monti	Six-time Olympic Games medalist and 10-time bobsled World Champion medalist from 1957 to 1968.

+Track records ! Sport ! Record ! Nation - athlete(s) ! Date ! Time (seconds)
Bobsleigh - two-man	Start	- Beat Hefti & Thomas Lamparter	5 December 2009	4.72
Luge - men's singles	Start FIL Luge World Cup Cesana 30 January 2010 men's singles results. - Retrieved 30 January 2010.	David Möller -	29 January 2010	2.457
Luge - men's singles	Track	Albert Demtschenko -	12 February 2006	51.396
Luge - women's singles	Start FIL Luge World Cup Cesana 31 January 2010 women's singles results. - Retrieved 31 January 2010.	Silke Kraushaar -	14 February 2006	4.320
Luge - women's singles	Track	Natalie Geisenberger -	31 January 2010	46.817
Luge - men's doubles	Start FIL Luge World Cup Cesana 30 January 2010 doubles results. - Retrieved 30 January 2010.	- Tobias Wendl & Tobias Arlt	29 January 2010	4.258
Luge - men's doubles	Track	- Christian Oberstolz & Patrick Gruber	30 January 2010	46.293
Women's skeleton	Track	Shelley Rudman -	4 December 2009	58.71

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Championships hosted

• 2006 Winter Olympics
• FIL European Luge Championships: 2008
• FIL World Luge Championships: 2011

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Notes

• 2006 Winter Olympics official report. Volume 3. pp. 61–3.
• Canadian skeleton racer Lindsay Alcock's diary during 2005 FIBT homologation of Cesana Pariol for the 2006 Winter Olympics
• 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.
• Schwab: "Act of international solidarity". at the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (19 October 2009 accessed 2 December 2009.)
• 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
• Track manager Ferriani assures that "everything is done for safety". at the Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (2 February 2005 article accessed 2 December 2009.)
• 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.

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External links

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