Eugenio Monti’s Fair Play Legacy Reborn in Cortina
The Monti Track in Cortina d’Ampezzo is ready for the 2026 Winter Olympics. More than a state-of-the-art venue, it’s a living tribute to Eugenio Monti, whose acts of sportsmanship turned him into a global symbol of fair play.
The newly rebuilt Eugenio Monti Sliding Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo held its first official competition this past weekend, a combined World Cup event for bobsleigh and skeleton which also serves as a test event for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. The event marks a major milestone for the venue, after years of reconstruction, a new era begins with athletes competing on this stage in preparation for the Olympics.
Sportsmanship beyond victory
The Cortina d’Ampezzo track’s namesake, Eugenio Monti, is not only a sporting legend but an enduring symbol of fair play. He was the first person in the world to receive the Pierre de Coubertin Fair Play Award - precisely because he valued the integrity of sport more than his own Olympic chances.
At the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Monti helped his rivals without hesitation: he provided a crucial part for the damaged sled of Britain’s Tony Nash, enabling them to continue the race, and ultimately win the gold medal. In the four-man bobsleigh event, he similarly assisted the Canadian team, who also went on to claim Olympic gold. Monti returned home with “only” bronze medals, but in truth, he won the most important medal of all: the medal of human greatness.
Later, at the 1968 Games in Grenoble, he became a double Olympic champion himself, yet his legacy is defined not by the number of victories, but by the exemplary gestures that made him a true icon of sportsmanship.
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At the 2026 Winter Olympics, the bobsleigh and skeleton events will be held here, on a track that carries both the glory of the past and the promise of the future. Spectators, athletes and organisers alike will take part in writing a new chapter in the history of winter sports, paying tribute to the very first recipient of the Fair Play Award.
