Training facility in Madrid opened with Ivo Ferriani and Ander Mirambell
The Real Federación Española de Deportes de Hielo (RFEDH) has presented the new version of the push track at the High Performance Center of the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), initially at the CAR in Sant Cugat and now in Madrid. That was announced in a RFEDH press release on April 17. The structure is used to practice starts, one of the essential parts in the skeleton, in addition to having a work tool for the national team in Spain.
The track is made up of three meter pieces, up to a total of 42 meters in length. The athletes run about 15 meters and the rest of the distance is used to decelerate safely, through a braking system based on a kind of handbrake. The sled is one that former Skeleton athlete and nof IBSf vice president sport Ander Mirambell used in his early days, but without the blades and with inline skate wheels. The structure is made of galvanized iron and stainless steel nuts, which makes it possible to resist outdoor temperatures. The design of the track was carried out by Ander himself and his coach Bernat Buscà, with the idea of achieving an economical, efficient and removable platform.
The motivation behind this movement is that the current nucleus of skeleton pilots lives in Madrid. In addition, it is proposed in the future that the track can be installed in other locations or that foreign countries come to Spain to concentrate and take advantage of this structure.
The event was attended by the president of the CSD, José Manuel Franco, who inaugurated the track together with Ivo Ferriani, president of the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF); Frank González, president of the RFEDH; and the members of the national skeleton team: Ana Torres-Quevedo, Clara Aznar, Serena Juan and Javier Basas.
Photos: Consejo Superior de Deportes
