Several Winter Olympic sports could be held in the United States in 2026.
However, the bobsled, luge and skeleton competitions currently open for competition are not being held in Salt Lake City, which has been chosen as the new preferred host site for the 2034 Winter Olympics, but rather in the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. Lake Placid, New York venue.
Organizers of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games have been told by the International Olympic Committee to find an existing sliding track for the competition after plans to rebuild an old facility in Italy fell through.
The most frequently mentioned candidates are nearby airstrips in Austria and Switzerland, but it appears the Italian government is still trying to figure out how to build a new one.
U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland told reporters Thursday that the U.S. was invited by Milan-Cortina organizers to bid to host the sliding event about a month ago. He said he is “fully supportive” of the desire to hold the event in Lake Placid.
Hirshland said the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority, which manages the Lake Placid venue, is “very excited about the prospect of supporting the 2026 Olympics.” Our role was to support that and endorse their suggestions, and we did that. ”
He said the USOPC reached out to the nation’s only Olympic sliding track, built at Utah Olympic Park near Park City for the 2002 Winter Olympics, but Utah’s focus was “as you might imagine. , of course, in 2034.
Just last week, the IOC advanced Salt Lake City to the final stages of a new, less formal selection process for the 2034 Winter Olympics, with a final vote among full members expected next July.
Fraser Bullock, president and CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Convention Committee, confirmed that the decision was made not to hold the convention after the 2026 convention.
“We did not make a bid because there are many good alternatives and we are focused on 2034,” Block said. Asked if he supported New York City’s proposal to hold a slide event, he said, “We support the USOPC’s position.”
Block said in a statement that the bid committee “supports Milan-Cortina’s efforts to explore options to host sliding sports at the 2026 Games.” However, the Utah commitment means he needs to focus on 2034. ”
He also wished Italian Olympic organizers “all the best to find options to successfully hold the bobsled, skeleton and luge events.”
In a conference call with reporters after the USOPC board meeting, Hirshland called Salt Lake City’s new priority site status for 2034 “great winter sports news.”
Lake Placid’s bid for the 2026 Games, finalized this week, is “another exciting prospect and another example of how the United States is truly a leader in the global winter sports arena,” she said. Stated.
Hirshland said Lake Placid, which is considering hosting the Olympics again, is a “vibrant winter sports community.”
“The synergy of New York City’s Lake Placid and Milano-Cortina, combined with New York’s Italian heritage, creates this kind of unforgettable and culturally rich sliding sports location,” she said. .
USOPC Board Chair Gene Sykes praised Salt Lake City’s bid for the Olympics.
Sykes told reporters that “the effort to return the Winter Olympics to Utah and the United States” is one of the USOPC’s “key work streams” this year, and called for the involvement of the bid committee and the IOC. “A model of attention to detail and efficiency.” ”
Sykes said the IOC Executive Board’s decision to start a so-called targeted dialogue with Salt Lake City alone for the 2034 Winter Olympics “really kick-starts plans for future official competition awards.” Ta.