In the World of Speedskating, This Has Never Been Done

No ice is colder and harder than speedskating ice. The precision it takes has meant that Olympic speedskaters have never competed for gold on a temporary indoor rink—until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games, reports the AP. In the pursuit of maximum glide and minimum friction, Olympic officials brought on ice master Mark Messer, a veteran of six previous Olympic speedskating tracks and the ice technician in charge of the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Canada, one of the fastest tracks in the world with over 300 records.

Messer has been putting that experience to work one thin layer of ice at a time since the end of October at the new Speed Skating Stadium, built inside adjacent trade fair halls in the city of Rho just north of Milan. Before Messer arrived, workers spent weeks setting up insulation to level the floor and then a network of pipes and rubber tubes that carry glycol—an antifreeze—that is brought down to minus 7 or minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 to 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit) to make the ice. Water is run through a purification system—but it can't be too pure, or the ice that forms will be too brittle. Just the right amount of impurities "holds the ice together,'' Messer said.

The first layers of water are applied slowly, with a spray nozzle; after the ice reaches a few centimeters it is painted white—a full day's work—and the stripes are added to make lanes. "The first one takes about 45 minutes. And then as soon as it freezes, we go back and do it again, and again and again. So we do it hundreds of times,'' Messer said. As the ice gets thicker, and is more stable, workers apply subsequent layers of water with hoses. What must absolutely be avoided is dirt, dust, or frost, all of which can cause friction for the skaters, slowing them down.

The rink got its first big test on Nov. 29-30 during a Junior World Cup event. Dutch speedskater Kayo Vos, who won the men's neo-senior 1,000 meters, said the ice was a little soft—but Messer didn't seem too concerned. "We went very modest to start, now we can start to change the temperatures and try to make it faster and still maintain it as a safe ice,'' he said. Fine-tuning the air temperature and humidity and ice temperature must be done methodically, taking into account that there will be 6,000 spectators in the venue for each event. The next real test will be on Jan. 31, when the Olympians take to the ice for their first training session.