By Alvise Armellini
LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb 19 (Reuters) – The Winter Olympics freestyle skiing halfpipe and aerials events were postponed on Thursday for a day in Livigno, while the women and men ended up training at the same time for the biathlon mass start as heavy snowfall caused schedule changes.
However, organisers were confident the weather would cause no major disruption, with the Games ending on Sunday.
The men’s aerials qualifiers and final were rescheduled for Friday starting from 0930 GMT, while the men’s halfpipe qualification runs were moved to an hour after that.
As snow stopped falling on Livigno in the early afternoon, organisers confirmed that the women’s halfpipe qualifiers would take place from 1830 GMT. The final is scheduled for Saturday evening, as the Olympics’ closer for freestyle skiing.
Biathlon competition organisers in Anterselva had to stage one session for both men and women training for the mass start as heavy snowfall was expected to hit the area later in the day.
Thick snow blanketed Tesero as the Nordic combined team sprint got under way, with the mountains of the Val di Fiemme no longer visible in the background.
“Snow is an occupational hazard of winter sports,” International Olympic Committee spokesperson Mark Adams told a press conference.
“They are well used to dealing with delays, changes and bad weather … We are used to it, the federations are used to it. It is something we have to work with, unfortunately,” he said.
It is not the first time harsh weather has forced changes to the Olympics schedule in Livigno, a remote Alpine resort close to the border with Switzerland known as “Little Tibet”.
It is common during most Winter Olympics for organisers to move competitions around, based on the impact of weather.
On Tuesday, organisers postponed the women’s snowboard slopestyle medal event and the start of the freestyle aerials for both men and women.
Milano Cortina’s closing ceremony will be staged in the city of Verona on Sunday and is set to start at 1900 GMT.
(Additional reporting Liz Hampton in Tesero, Phil O’Connor in Anterselva. Writring by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Ken Ferris)
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