Thursday officially marked one year until the opening ceremonies of the 2026 Winter Olympics, hosted for the first time by two cities: Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

Alpine skiing will be divided between Cortina (for the women’s events) and Bormio (for the men) — which are separated by a 5 ½-hour drive. Livigno will host freestyle skiing and snowboarding, biathlon will be in Anterselva, Nordic events will be in Val di Fiemme and ice sports in Milan.

By Elvira Pollina MILAN (Reuters) -Italy began the one-year countdown to the Winter Olympics on Thursday with a series of events designed to fuel enthusiasm for the Games that will be co-hosted by Milan and the Alpine town of Cortina d'Ampezzo.