TIME MACHINE: 2006
Welcome back to the Time Machine, which today transports us back to 2006. This was a pivotal year for mass communication. Twitter was born in 2006 – a platform that, in the words of its founder Evan Clark Williams, was “difficult to define, because it didn’t really replace anything.” Now called X, the social network initially allowed users to comment on anything with short messages of up to 140 characters. Its incisive nature has redefined the web over the years.
Turning to football, 2006 is a year close to the hearts of many Italian fans. On July 9, the national team won its fourth World Cup title. The final match was played against France and held at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. It is still remembered as a moment of celebration and pride.
In other sports, the city of Turin hosted the 20th Winter Olympic Games. The event took place from February 10th to 26th in the Piedmontese capital and eight locations across the region. The Paralympic Games, held in March, followed.
The Games relaunched the city on the international stage. They also play an important part in FILA’s own history, which at the beginning of the new millennium was making waves in winter sports. In 2004, FILA had become the official sponsor of FISI (the Italian Winter Sports Federation), an agreement that brought together a promising new generation of skiers, including Daniela Ceccarelli, Kristian Ghedina, Isolde Kostner, Karen Putzer and Giorgio Rocca. The era was named ‘Valanga Rossa’ (Red Avalanche). Alberto Tomba, the superstar of skiing in the 1990s, became the phenomenon’s ‘godfather’.
The Red Avalanche reached its peak moment at the Turin Olympics, with FILA once again the official technical sponsor of the Italian team. Several beloved FILA ambassadors took part in the games. Former cross-country skier Manuela Di Centa carried the Olympic flag during the opening ceremony to a first-ever, all-female committee who included writer Isabel Allende and Oscar winners Sophia Loren and Susan Sarandon. Also present was Stefania Belmondo, another former cross-country skier and previous Olympic torchbearer.
The city of Turin is significant to FILA. It shares proximity to Biella, and both cities love to celebrate their Alpine origins. The Turin Winter Olympics gave FILA a chance to present innovation in winter sports. Among these, the ‘Jet Suit‘ stands out; a blue and white bodysuit featuring a graphic pattern of snow crystals.
At Turin 2006, numerous FILA athletes came out winning. Armin Zöggeler, a luger from Trentino, won gold and was the flag bearer at the closing ceremony. Nicknamed ‘the cannibal’ (in homage to Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx), he is currently the only athlete in the world to have won medals in six consecutive editions of the Games. Giorgio Di Centa, a former cross-country skier from Friuli (and brother of Manuela, a former FILA athlete and Olympic champion), won two gold medals; for the 50 km TL and the relay. (The relay team included Pietro Piller Cottrer, Fulvio Valbusa and Cristian Zorzi). Finally, Jennifer Isacco from Lombardy and Gerda Weißensteiner from Trentino, former bobsleigh champions, won bronze in the doubles.
