MILAN — Nestled in a lakeside town in northern Italy is Australia’s “home away from home” for the Milan Cortina Olympics — right down to the coffee and Vegemite.Nearly 15 years ago, the Australian Institute of Sport opened the European Training Centre in Gavirate, about an hour’s drive from Milan.With a fully equipped gym as well as a games room with a pool table, it offers a base to train and relax for the 3,000 Australian athletes traveling through Europe in any given year.“It was a strategic vision because we knew that Australian athletes, one of the biggest troubles for them was the tyranny of distance of traveling” the center’s director, Fiona de Jong, told The Associated Press.“So 24-hour flight to Europe from Australia means that you can’t do that time and time again if you’re trying to compete at the highest level. It was our answer to our unique problem as a sporting country.”The AIS has turned the center into a little slice of Australia right from the moment athletes arrive at the facility.Statues of a kangaroo and an emu, sporting Australia scarves, stand proudly at the entrance and inside there is an abundance of pictures and maps of Australia and plenty of green and gold — the Australian colors.“It’s amazing for us that the long-term investment between Italy and Australia is really working i …
