Australia's bobsleigh gold medal hopeful Bree Walker will race for the first time at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic sliding course, with test events underway this weekend.
Bobsleigh and skeleton competitors will be out on the ice at the redeveloped Eugenio Monti Sliding Centre in Cortina d'Ampezzo to compete in the season-opening World Cup, which doubles as an Olympic test event.
They won't race in front of any spectators with the surrounding area still a construction site ahead of the Games, which run from February 6 to 22.
Victorian Walker, who finished fifth in the monobob at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, has just completed a 10-day training block on the course.
Finishing last season ranked as world No.2, she will compete in that event on the weekend as well as in the two-woman bobsleigh with brakewoman Kiara Reddingius.
The historic Cortina track, which staged the 1956 Olympics, last hosted a World Cup in 2008 and the IOC initially considered staging the sliding events outside of Italy rather than redevelop the existing facility.
The 1730-metre course features 16 curves with athletes travelling at more than 140 kph, with 33-year-old Walker giving her approval.
"We originally thought that we weren't going to have a track here in Cortina, so being here these past two weeks has been really exciting for many reasons," Walker told the Australian Olympic Committee.
"I love learning new tracks from scratch. It's such a challenge in the beginning, but when you start to get it, it's really rewarding."
"The track is really fun - it has a great flow to it. It's not tricky to get down, but it's still going to be good fun racing."
"Our preparation is going well. We have worked really hard to learn the track as best as we can for now ... so we go into this World Cup week feeling good and ready."
Sarah Blizzard will also compete in both World Cup events in Cortina, teaming up with either Desi Johnson or Ashleigh Werner as her brakewoman for the two-woman bobsleigh.
