Tomba 'La Bomba' visits Georgia's ski resorts

During the weekend that I was in the ski region of Mestia in Upper Svaneti in the north of Georgia, a famous professional skier was also in the region. Alberto Tomba, the retired Italian professional skier, winner of three Olympic gold medals, arrived in Georgia to visit the ski resort. The three-day visit, supported by the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs and the Georgian Ski Federation, was aimed at promoting Georgia as a skiing destination.

After a press conference in the capital, Tbilisi, Tomba flew to Mestia. Although it was springtime, there was plenty of snow on the alps. From Mestia, he also visited Gudauri. Tomba ‘La Bomba’ (Tomba, the bomb) won gold in both the slalom and the giant slalom in 1988 at the Olympic Games in Calgary, Canada. Four years later, he claimed back to back gold in the giant slalom and silver in the slalom at the 1992 Albertville Olympics in France. Tomba also won two gold medals at the Alpine World Ski Championships at Sierra Nevada, Spain, in 1996. With such a pedigree in skiing, it was hoped that Tomba’s visit to Georgia would raise the profile of Georgian alps as a skiing destination for tourists.

Alberto Tomba said Georgia was equipped to host international ski competitions in either Mestia or Gudauri. The city of Borjomi in Georgia bid for the 2014 winter Olympics, but was unsuccessful, losing to Sochi, Russia. However, with the development of Mestia and Gudauri as ski resorts and a major push by the government to promote these regions as tourist destinations, Georgia is sure to re-bid in the future.

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