Malagò: 2026 Olympics on track after difficult few years

By DANIELLA MATAR
AP Sports Writer

MILAN (AP) — Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malagò is confident everything is on track for the country’s first Olympics in two decades but admits that the past few years have been akin to “running a marathon with a backpack.” Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo will stage the 2026 Winter Games and the country’s preparations have been hampered by the coronavirus pandemic as well as political upheaval. But Malagò hailed a productive first in-person meeting with the International Olympic Committee’s Coordination Commission for the Games after three days in Milan. It was also Andrea Varnier’s first meeting with the Commission after being named chief executive of the 2026 organizing committee last month.