Body found at Olympic venue: what’s happening a month before the Games
Media reports say the 55-year-old man, identified as Pietro Zantonini, was responsible for inspecting a construction area near an ice arena for the upcoming Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo every two hours.
During a routine patrol at around 2:00 a.m., the guard reportedly felt unwell.
“Zantonini is believed to have died a short time later as he went outside. Initial investigations say he suffered a heart attack and collapsed in the snow. Emergency services rushed to the site and performed CPR but Zantonini was pronounced dead at the scene,” the outlet reported.
According to colleagues, the man had complained of feeling unwell earlier in his shift but continued working. Low temperatures may have contributed to his death, as the temperature in Cortina dropped to minus 12°C that night.
After the death was officially confirmed, Andrea Varnier, CEO of the organizing committee for the 2026 Winter Olympics, announced that an investigation had been launched. Italy’s infrastructure minister Matteo Salvini later called for a thorough review of the incident.
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The Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina are set to take place from February 6 to 22, with less than a month remaining until the opening ceremony.
Earlier, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Tourism and Sports Erbol Myrzabosynov said that 13.3 billion tenge had been allocated to prepare Kazakh athletes for the Games.