50th Anniversary for Cortina d’Ampezzo - VII Olympic Winter Games

Cortino d'Ampezzo, Italy - January 26, 2006 Fifty years ago, the 1956 Olympic Winter Games opened in the glamorous Italian ski resort Cortina d’Ampezzo. To celebrate the occasion, the Torino 2006 Olympic Torch Relay travelled to town, with much fanfare and revelry.

The Opening Ceremony of the XX Olympic Winter Games – Torino 2006 is only 15 days away. The torch has travelled via bobsleigh, via Ferrari, via ski jump, via skates on Lake Misurina (the only natural mirror of ice ever used in Olympic competition), and via horseback, courstey of Cortina’s traditional Rangers. The Olympic flame will be kept burning overnight in a replica of the cauldron that was used at the 1956 Games.

About the Torch

The style concept behind the design is innovative: it is a modern reinterpretation of the traditional torch made of wood; the flame envelopes the body of the torch, instead of coming out of a hole on top, as has been the case in the past. An advanced technological instrument, the Torch was designed according to specific criteria and prerequisites; it is 770 mm high, has a diameter of 105 mm and weighs 1.850 kg. It cannot be re-lit and it must not go out even in bad weather conditions such as rain, snow and wind. The flame of each torch, which burns for 15 minutes, must not be higher than 10 centimetres. As for the materials used, the outside shell is made of aluminium; the inside fittings are of steel, copper and techno-polymers, and for the surface finish, a special paint is used that is resistant to high temperatures.

VII Olympic Winter Games - Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italia

The VII Olympic Winter Games were staged in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. 821 athletes from 32 nations competed in 24 events. It was the first time a team from the U.S.S.R. competed in the Winter Games, and the Soviets won more medals than any other nation. The Soviet hockey team ended Canada’s domination (and Canada was not to win another Olympic Gold medal in hockey until 50 years later in Salt Lake City). Tony Sailer of Austria won all three men’s races in Alpine skiing - the first clean sweep in Olympic history. The United States emerged as a power-to-be-reckoned-with in figure skating as Tenley Albright won the women’s title and Hayes Alan Jenkins led an American medal sweep on the men’s side. 1956 Cortina marked the first time the Games were televised. It was also the last time the figure skating competitions were staged outdoors.

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