✍️ The Backward Games
Improvisation defined the Milan-Cortina Olympics -- and its limits were plain to see
In the most bizarre race I witnessed at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, Italian speed skater Pietro Sighel was clipped entering the home stretch of his 500-meter heat. Two skaters crashed to the ice. But Sighel lurched to one side, spun around, steadied himself with his fingers grazing the ice, and somehow crossed the finish line backward. He was just 0.008 seconds short of winning.
Sighel’s thrilling, chaotic finish that day was pure improvisation under pressure -- Italy’s national sport.
The Italian term for it is l’arte di arrangiarsi, the art of making do. And it was on display in most facets of these Games.
They were the most decentralized Olympics ever held, spread across a territory nearly the size of Belgium. The opening ceremony and indoor events were in Milan. But most outdoor competitions took place more than five hours away in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Alpine skiing was in Bormio, three hours north of Milan. And the closing ceremony was held in Verona -- a city that hosted no competitions -- two hours east of Milan and three south of Cortina.
“I don’t feel like I am covering the Olympics,” said my colleague Eric Reguly, like me, a veteran of three Olympics. “I feel more like I am covering a bunch of isolated World Cups.”
There was the day a local dog escaped from a bed-and-breakfast and sprinted alongside cross country skiers mid-race. Organizers repainted hockey rink boards after players complained the original colors made the puck hard to see.
There were reports of Olympic medals detaching from their ribbons shortly after ceremonies. Travel was disrupted by protests against U.S. ICE officials participating in security details, by sabotage to major rail lines, and by plain old bus malfunctions.
Journalists swapped advice about bringing their own toilet paper to venues, and on a personal note: I discovered my press credential request had been approved several days after the Games had already begun.
No serious Italy watcher could be surprised by any of it.
It forces a question I ask myself often: Is this a way to run a country?
Italy seems to have always run like this, relying on ingenuity and charm when plans fray or time runs short. And to an extent, it works.
But improvisation has limits. I’ve written about this before -- whether in policies that allow historic city centers to be hollowed out as locals depart, the fuga di cervelli draining many of the country’s brightest young minds, or the nearly impenetrable bureaucracy that complicates everyday Italian life.
Sighel’s 500-meter race can be looked at as a reminder of those limits. His backward finish turned heads, but it did not win him a medal. He made do in a situation that might have sent most athletes crashing into the barricades. He advanced to the next round. But he ultimately finished tenth, far from the podium.
That could have been the end of the metaphor. But there’s more.
Sighel and three teammates won Gold in the mixed relay. As he crossed the finish line in that race, Sighel turned around and skated backward again -- this time deliberately, raising his arms to the home crowd and at least slightly mocking his opponents.
In one race he was reacting to chaos; in the other, he was celebrating total control.
My adopted home country excels at the first. But I’d like to see it also aspire to the second.
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✍️ These shorter Dispatch-style pieces appear every other Tuesday, in the weeks between the long-form features. Come back next week for another full essay.
As someone who lives in Milan:
a. I am extremely relieved that everyone stayed safe. Let's be mindful that we live in a deeply troubled world and no place is completely safe; I'm happy we can laugh about a dog
b. Despite the last-minute fixes, it felt to me like the athletes were happy with the infrastructure, food, and hospitality. The Olympics are for them, first and foremost
c. I was glad to see that my city kept functioning and that the vibe was great. I live close to the Olympic Village and didn't feel at all like I needed to escape
Indeed, I root for my country to become more efficient, innovative, and organized—but I wouldn't take the three points above for granted, regardless of where the Olympics take place.
I was following the Olympics but this is an original take on what happened there. No doubt Italy is badly organized ... no doubt. It's charming and frustrating.