Alpine skiing stars held their first official training session for the upcoming World Cup race in Crans-Montana on Wednesday, a month after a devastating bar fire in the Swiss resort.
Forty people were killed and more than 100 injured after a fire at a New Year’s Eve party appeared to have been caused by fireworks in a champagne bottle too close to the ceiling.
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low profile plan plan
While the investigation is ongoing, it was agreed that the ski race would go ahead as planned, but in a more somber tone, with all activities limited to the ski slopes and finish area.
Governing body Swiss Ski Association said in mid-January that support plans would be discreet and include moments of silence and remembrance. All planned events in Crans-Montana city center have reportedly been cancelled.
Friday’s women’s downhill race, Saturday’s super-G and men’s downhill race are the final World Cup races before the Milan/Cortina Winter Olympics, which kick off next week. They are also a preview of next year’s World Championships in Crans-Montana.
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“This place needs competition,” said Crans-Montana president Nicolas Féraud.
The Swiss team is in a difficult situation
It will be a tough day mentally, especially for the Swiss team, which includes Mallory Blanc and Justin Murisier from the region.
“We are all suffering,” Murisil said, while Blanc said in early January, “There are almost no words to describe how I feel after this disaster.”
But Murisil also told the dpa news agency that “life goes on” and they have to deal with the pain. “This is our job. We’re just like everyone else: We have to get back to work.”
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Blanc said she will also ski for people in the region, while teammate Camille Rust, who did not race in Crans-Montana, dedicated her win to the victims in early January.
return to normal state
Rust said she wanted to bring some joy to people, a sentiment echoed by Swiss downhill coach Reto Niederger.
“I think sport can also show people that life goes on,” Niedergger told the dpa news agency.
Niedergger said the squad, which revolves around stars Marco Odermatt and Franjo von Allmann, trained at Crans-Montana earlier this month and they also spoke about the tragedy.
“There’s a lot of respect,” he said. “We want to do our job as well as possible. Maybe this can help people get back to normal.”
