The World Championship event was organized by Fondazione Cortina and Bob Club Cortina
On Friday, September 12, Cortina d’Ampezzo hosted the Summer Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championships. The event, held for the first time in the Ampezzo Valley and also valid for the assignment of the Italian titles, took place at the Fiames sports center, on the renovated push track named after Renzo Alverà.
The event, promoted by Fondazione Cortina — the organization behind Cortina’s major sporting events — and Bob Club Cortina, the historic club that has trained generations of athletes and hosted several international competitions, saw the participation of Italy, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Spain, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, and Slovakia.
In bobsleigh, Italy dominated the two-man event, with Mattia Variola, paired with Mario Lambrughi, winning the title after two heats, edging out fellow Italians Patrick Baumgartner and Robert Mircea by just 0.09 seconds. The latter tied for second place with the Austrian team led by Jakob Mandlbauer. In the women’s two-man event, Austria’s Kathrin Beierl, teamed with Simone Christania Williams, took the win. Beierl also triumphed in the monobob, ahead of Switzerland’s Melanie Hasler and Inola Blatty.
In the four-man bobsleigh, it was an all-Italian one-two finish: the new world champions are Patrick Baumgartner, with Eric Fantazzini, Robert Micea, and Lorenzo Bilotti. Just 0.16 seconds behind came Alex Verginer, together with José Delmas Obou, Massimiliano Di Stasio, and Riccardo Ragazzi, claiming silver.
In skeleton, the women’s podium was an all-Italian sweep: Alessia Gatti claimed the title, ahead of Valentina Margaglio (15 hundredths behind) and Alessandra Fumagalli (37 hundredths back). In the men’s skeleton, Switzerland’s Livio Summermatter won gold, with Italy’s Andrea Monti taking silver (22 hundredths behind) and Romania’s Liviu Theodor Buligescu finishing third (24 hundredths behind).
The new Italian champions are: Noemi Cavalleri in the monobob; Mattia Variola (with Mario Lambrughi) and Simona De Silvestro (with Martina Favaretto) in the two-man bobsleigh; and Patrick Baumgartner (with Eric Fantazzini, Robert Micea, and Lorenzo Bilotti) in the four-man. In skeleton, Alessia Gatti and Andrea Monti claimed the Italian titles.
“After hosting several editions of the Italian Championships, we are proud to have welcomed the World Championships to Ampezzo for the first time, together with Fondazione Cortina,” said Gianfranco Rezzadore, President of Bob Club Cortina. “The Renzo Alverà push track has been completely renovated and offered ideal conditions for racing. We are satisfied with both the World and Italian Championships: the technical level was high and the races were hard-fought. I also want to highlight how these days provided an opportunity to bring young people closer to bobsleigh: we introduced about twenty youngsters from all over Veneto to our sport, and their enthusiasm was evident. Our commitment looks not only to the coming months but also to the years ahead, for example to 2028, when Cortina will host the Youth Olympic Games.”
In addition to the Summer World Championships, Cortina d’Ampezzo also hosted, on September 11 and 12, the IBSF Congress, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation’s annual meeting.
“In 1981 I took my pilot course on the old track named after Eugenio Monti, and coming back today as President of the International Federation is an incredible emotion,” said Ivo Ferriani, President of IBSF. “As IBSF, we have always believed in Cortina’s track, which has turned from a problem into a model. As a federation, we are here today on the eve of the Olympic Games, but we will also be here afterwards: we strongly believe in this venue and are already working hard to ensure continuous activity after the Milano-Cortina 2026 Games.”
“We are proud and honored to support IBSF in organizing the 2025 Congress and the Summer World Championships,” said Stefano Longo, President of Fondazione Cortina. “Cortina d’Ampezzo is one of the world capitals of bobsleigh and skeleton: the history of these sports was written here, with tradition, expertise, and the ability to host major events and nurture future athletes and champions. Fondazione Cortina, just as we have done for alpine skiing, snowboarding, and ski mountaineering, aims to establish itself as a stable, reliable, and organized partner for both national and international federations in the coming years.”
