The Adirondacks will soon play host to the largest event since the 1980 Olympic Winter Games.
From January 12 to 22, 2023, the Lake Placid 2023 FISU Winter World University Games will attract over 2,500 student-athletes and coaches from over 50 countries, as well as countless spectators and winter sports enthusiasts.
The Winter World University Games, the second largest multi-sport competition after the Olympics, features 12 winter sports competitions to Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington (alpine, jumps), Gore Mountain in North Creek (freestyle, free-ski, snowboarding), and Mount Van Hoevenberg (gently inclined) (Nordic).
Lake Placid, which also hosted the Olympic Winter Games in 1932 and 1980, has undergone extensive renovations since those glorious days. New routes were cut out and older ones were widened and enhanced, and state-of-the-art snowmaking and grooming systems were added.
The Post quoted Andrew Weibrecht, 36, a resident of Lake Placid and three-time Olympian, as saying, “We typically get a lot of snow, but you need top-of-the-line snowmaking for security when hosting elite events.”
Weibrecht’s father, a former ski instructor, and his mother, a former luger, own and operate the Mirror Lake Inn, a nearby luxury resort. After his third Olympics in 2018, Weibrecht retired from competition and joined the family business.
In January 2022, the newly designed race finish line that retains the iconic 1980 Olympics scoreboard was named the Andrew Webbrecht Finish Area. The new Warhorse Quad Lift on Whiteface Mountain is named in honor of Weibrecht, a two-time Olympic medalist dubbed the Warhorse.
One week prior to the opening of the 1980 Winter Olympics, there was reportedly no snow. Then it arrived. According to Weibrecht, two storms dumped all that snow in preparation for the games. However, it was kind of a nail-biter.
Though he is not officially involved, Weibrecht is ecstatic that Lake Placid is shaping up to remain a world-class winter sports destination with unique facilities such as Mt. Van Hoevenberg’s new indoor push track — the only indoor refrigerated facility in the United States, which attracts bobsled and skeleton athletes from around the globe year-round.
In addition, the new Lake Placid Olympic Museum at the Olympic Center in downtown Lake Placid will recognize history when it opens later this year.
As it is preserved by the James C. Sheffield Speed Skating Oval, where the 1932 Olympic opening ceremonies were place and Lake Placid’s Jack Shea won the inaugural gold medal; and where, in 1980, Wisconsin’s Eric Heiden won a record five gold medals. In addition, there is the Herb Brooks Arena, which hosted the greatest athletic event of the 20th century, Miracle on Ice, and the Jack Shea Arena, which hosts daily skating.
“The history is astounding. Weibrecht posed the issue, “Is this location a relic, or will Lake Placid become significant?”
Beyond the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games, Lake Placid is undeniably recovering its status as a world-class winter sports location. The following events are scheduled: World Cup Ski Jumping (February 10 to 12), World Synchronized Skating Championships (March 30 to April 1), and the World Bobsled Skeleton Championships are scheduled for February 2025.
Weibrecht stated, “There is a special connection between winter sports and the Olympics in this region.” “At my first Olympic competition, I was shocked to see at least ten athletes from Lake Placid. It simply enters your bloodstream.”
»Future competitions develop Lake Placid into a winter sports paradise«