Winter Olympics 2026: speed skating gold for Italy, Cas upholds ban on GB skeleton helmets and more – as it happened

Ice hockey: Canada have mustered 16 shots in the first period but scored no goals against Switzerland. The Swiss had to see out a Canadian power play in the final minute and managed to see it out despite the puck landing on the top of the net after a goalmouth scramble.

Curling: There were three late matches in the mixed doubles. South Korea got their first win, beating the US 6-5. Italy beat Norway 6-5 and Estonia inflicted a major blow on Canada’s hopes if making the final by securing a 8-6 victory. The British pair of Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat close out their round robin matches tomorrow against Italy and Switzerland, Team GB are already guaranteed a semi-final spot with seven wins from seven.

Figure skating: Was there some mind games going on in the men’s singles round of the team event? USA’s Ilia Malinin was definitely holding back a bit from his best routine ahead of the individual event. Yuma Kagiyama laid it all out for Japan and beat his American rival’s score by ten points. Malinin did enough to ensure the US go into the final round in gold medal position but now knows Kagiyama will carry a threat in the individual competition.

Snowboarding big air: Su Yiming’s landing is not exactly flawless and he needs a decent score to get on the podium. It’s an 80.25 that bumps down Martin of USA and sees the Chinese athlete get bronze. Kimata goes next needing to land something big to take gold…

Snowboarding big air: We have a new leader! Kira Kimura posts a 90.50 with a huge jump and a textbook landing, he’s eight points ahead of team-mate Ryoma Kimata.

Ski jumping: Norway’s Heidi Dyhre Traaserud is currently leading ski jumping with five athletes left to jump. We’ll have the medal winner from that event very soon.

Snowboarding big air: Oliver Martin of USA propels himself right up into medal contention with a 83.50 to move up to silver as it stands. Next up is Matteoli and he goes clean too. How will the judges score the Italian? After a long wait the cheers go up as he put himself into bronze with an 82.25. Now a long wait to see if the Italians can get their fourth medal of the Games.

Snowboarding big air: The final run will be done in reverse points order, so Ogiwara is up first having just dumped out his second run.

Snowboarding big air: So going into the third run Ryoma Kimata of Japan leads with scores of 86.25 and 85.25 for a solid total of 171.50, China’s Su Yiming sit second with a total of 162.00 and Dane Menzies of New Zealand is third with 160.75.

Snowboarding big air: Italy’s Ian Matteoli gets the biggest cheer so far as he lands his second run to score 80.25. Japan’s Hiroto Ogiwara is out of contention as he falls again and misses the chance to post a compettiive score going into the third run.

Snowboarding big air: Su Yiming’s nearly lands a switch backside 1800 and scores 73.75. Kira Kimura, the leader after the first run, doesn’t stick his second jump and slides down to fourth ahead of the third and final run.

Ski jumping: After round one in the women’s normal hill final, Anna Odine Strøm of Norway posted the top score of 136.9 as the only athlete to hit 100m. Slovenia’s Nika Prevc progressed in second with a score of 135.9 and Nozomi Maruyama of Japan posted the third highest score with 135.7. The final round will conclude in about half an hour.

Snowboarding big air: Defending Olympic champion Su Yiming goes to the top of the standings with a backside 1980, slight wobble on the landing but he’s still awarded 88.25. That lead doesn’t last long, mind, as Kira Kimura get an 89.0 for a virtually flawless jump. Neither Ian Matteoli or Hiroto Ogiwara can better that, or even land clean jumps so Kimura is the leader after the first run.

Snowboarding big air: We’re about halfway through the first runs and Ryoma Kimata of Japan is leading with a score of 86.25 but he is closely trailed by New Zealand’s Lyon Farrel, who landed the 1800, to score 83.50.

Snowboarding big air: Valentino Guseli of Australia is the first to go in tonight’s final, he’s not expected to trouble the medal places and makes his challenge slightly harder as he fails to stick the landing. The final result is based on your best two tricks, so he’ll be hoping for more from runs two and three.

Ice hockey: Hilary Knight equalled the US Olympic women’s hockey career goal record as the Americans beat Finland 5-0 in Milan. Also on the scoresheet for Team USA were Megan Keller, who got two assists, as well as Alex Carpenter, Taylor Heise and Abbey Murphy. US Vice President JD Vance sat with Jake Paul to watch the match at Fiera Milano, what a time to be alive.

Luge: The quickest man after round one is the still the quickest man after round two, Germany’s Max Langenhan will lead the luge overnight, with Jonas Müller of Austria second and Italian home hopeful Fischnaller third.

Ski jumping: We’re underway in the first round of the jumping. Currently going through the early jumpers. I’ll update you when we have a better picture of the contenders towards the end of the round

Luge: We’re into the second runs of the luge and the Italians are taking advantage of the home track. Dominik Fischnaller and Leon Felderer are currently sitting first and second, respectively. The final two runs will take place tomorrow to decide the medals.

Coming up: We have two more medal events this evening, the women’s ski jumping (normal hill) is due to begin in about 15 minutes and the men’s snowboard big air is slated for 6.30pm (GMT).

Ice Hockey: At the end of the second period in the women’s pool game between Finland and USA the Americans are 4-0 up.

Handover: Thank you for your company, Tom Bassam is here to take you through the next few hours. Enjoy the rest your weekend, wherever it may take you.

Women’s downhill: Italy’s most successful women’s skier Federica Brignone will compete in the Alpine skiing downhill race on Sunday at the Milano Cortina Olympics, the Italian winter sports federation said on Saturday. The 35-year-old had been assessing her condition after an accident last April left her with multiple leg fractures and a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Brignone will ski on the Olympia delle Tofane piste with bib number three.

Team GB athletes in action tomorrow

This just in from the Team GB press dept: Team GB will be back in action in a range of sports on Sunday in Milano Cortina. Andrew Musgrave will become a five-time Olympian in cross-country skiing, while Mia Brookes is also in action and the curling mixed doubles continues.

Cross-country skiing

Three British skiers will take on the men’s 10km + 10km skiathlon. Musgrave, who has a best Olympic finish of seventh in the 30km skiathlon at PyeongChang 2018, is joined by James Clugnet, appearing at his second Games, and debutant Joe Davies, who grew up in British Columbia watched the Vancouver 2010 Olympics as a fan.

Snowboarding

Women’s big air qualification takes centre stage on Sunday evening, with action getting underway at 7.30pm.

Mia Brookes is a two-time overall World Cup winner in this discipline, while she became a junior big air world champion in 2022. This is her first event of the Games, with slopestyle – in which she won her second X Games gold in January – following later.

Brookes is joined by Maisie Hill, who recovered from a life-threatening training crash into a wall of ice in 2023 and will now make her Olympic debut.

The 24-year-old was left with a lacerated liver, a broken spine, ribs and pelvis, a fractured lung and a bleed on the brain after the incident, but will complete a remarkable comeback in Livigno.

Curling

Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds play two more matches in the ranking round as they bid to remain undefeated. The British pair have already secured a place in the semi-finals but will hope to continue their momentum as they face Switzerland at 1.35pm before taking on Italy at 6.05pm.

Women’s 3,000m speed skating: The final pairing are out and comprises Joy Beune (Netherlands) and Isabelle Wiedemann (Canada). Can either of them poop Francesca Lollobrigida’s birthday party? Beune was the pre-race favourite, so don’t rule it out.

Women’s 3,000m speed skating: The fancied duo that are Norway’s Ragne Wiklund and the Netherlands’ Marijke Groenewoud are curretly out on the track, with Lollobrigida’s time of 3min 54.28sec the time to beat. Groenewoud is not skating well and looks uncomfortable out there, while Wiklund disappears into the distance. She’s not quite fast enough and the Norwegian finishes 2.26sec off the pace to go into the silver medal position.

Gallery: Feast your eyes on the pick of the images thus far from Day One of the Winter Olympics …

Women’s 3,000m speed skating: At the halfway point, Belgium’s Sandrine Tas has beaten Merel Conijn’s time to go top of the leaderboard ahead of a short break.

The current top five

1. Sandrine Tas (Belgium) 4min 01.26sec

2. Merel Conijn (Netherlands) 4min 01.65sec

3. Elizaveta Golubeva (Kazakhstan) 4min 03.30sec

4. Kaitlyn McGregor (Switzerland) 4min 04.13sec

5. Kseniia Korzhova (Neutral) 4min 05.83sec

Women’s 3,000m speed skating: With three pairs down out of 10, the Netherlands’ Merel Conijn is the clubhouse leader and is almost three seconds clear of Switzerland’s Kaitlyn McGregor in second place but the main medal contenders have yet to race. Joy Beune (Netherlands), Ragne Wiklund (Norway) and Marijke Groenewoud (Netherlands) are the favourites to take step on to the podium this afternoon.

Women’s 3,000m speed skating: Twenty competitors from 14 nations, a 400m oval track in Milan, only two skaters on the ice at any given time (one on the outer lane, the other on the inner), with all competitors racing against the clock over seven-and-a-half laps and the fastest time wins. What could possibly go wrong?

Curling mixed doubles: We’re in the eighth end and Team GB lead 6-4. A big mistake from the USA’s Corrie Thiesse followed by another excellent effort from Jen Dodds puts the Brits in the box seat to win this end too.

Curling mixed doubles: “Hard! Hard! Hard! Hard! Haaaaaaaaaard!” yells Jen Dodds as she implores her partner Bruce Mouat to sweeep more vigorously as she sends another stone down the track with a precision that borders on the spooky. Team GB lead the USA 5-4 in the seventh end in their bid to make it seven round robin wins out of seven and book a place in the semi-final.

Curling mixed doubles: We’re in the sixth end and USA have recovered to peg Team GB back to 4-4 in their contest. Both nations are unbeaten in the round robin.

Men’s freeski slopestyle: The first of two qualifying runs has been completed and Norway’s Ruud Birk leads the field with a score of 81.75. Team GB’s Chris McCormick is in 21st place with a score of 33.90 but will have another chance to force his way into the top 12 riders who make the final.

Men’s Downhill: On a beautiful day in Bornio, the Swiss Skier Franjo von Allmen dominated a challenging course to win in 1:min 51.61sec and take the first medal of these Olympic Games, write’s Sean Ingle from Milan.

Women’s snowboard cross: Canada’s Olympic champion Meryeta O’Dine has been ruled out of the Games after suffering a fractured ankle in a training session, the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canada Snowboard have confirmed. Medical staff evaluated the 26-year-old after she fell and imaging confirmed the ankle bone injury, ending the two-time Olympic medallist’s campaign before the competitions begin.

O’Dine, at her third Olympics, is a key figure in the national snowboard cross programme and one of the team’s most experienced riders. “Her absence from competition is a significant loss for the team,” the statement added.

O’Dine said she was heartbroken. “But I am proud of the work I put in this year to get here ... I have seen a new athlete in myself emerge from the challenges I have faced this year and will continue to rise above. I am upset now, but I will grow from this.”

Curling mixed doubles: At the halfway point in their second match of the day, things could not be going more swimmingly for the Team GB duo of Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat. They lead the USA 4-1 and have barely put a foot, stone or brush stroke wrong in this competition thus far.

Women’s skiathlon: Sweden Frida Karlsson has been talking after winning gold in the women’s skiathlon ahead of her compatriot Ebba Andersson and Norway’s Heidi Weng. Karlsson finished 51 seconds ahead of the other racers, with time to grab the Swedish flag and wave at the crowd before crossing the finish line.

“That was the moment when it hit me,” she said. “I was like, ‘OK, this is for real’. I had so much fun out there today and I am really proud of my whole team who have made this happen. The skis were super and the body felt amazing.”

World Cup leader Jessie Diggins of the US, seen as a contender for a podium spot, fell on a sharp downhill turn early in the race in a crash that also took out Norway’s Karoline Simpson-Larsen, and failed to catch up to the leading packs. Diggins trailed at 14th in the classic part of the race, but made up time on the freestyle, her strongest discipline, to finish eighth.

“I was really, really encouraged by the skate half but the classic half, the things out of my control, did not go very well,” she told reporters. “Unfortunately, it was a tough spot where you lose all your momentum.” Reuters

Curling: The GB pairing of Dodds and Mouat take a 3-0 lead over the USA after the second end after the measuring dial makes an appearance.

Handover: Barry Glendenning has returned and will take you through the afternoon’s action.

Women’s Downhill: World champion Breezy Johnson led a weather-interrupted final training for the women’s Olympic downhill on Saturday but injured US teammate and comeback queen Lindsey Vonn was again the talk of the slopes with the third fastest time.
Johnson set the pace with a time of 1min 37.91sec with Germany’s Kira Weidle-Winkelmann 0.21 slower and Vonn 0.37 off the pace.

Vonn was the 15th starter, her left knee in a brace under the race suit, and the session was then halted by low cloud and falling snow after 23 of the 43 skiers on the list had gone down the Olimpia delle Tofane piste.

The skiers from bib 24 onwards were recorded as non-starters. Vonn, the 41-year-old 2010 Olympic champion who has vowed to race on Sunday despite rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in Switzerland last week, did not speak to reporters other than replying “good” when asked how the run had felt.

Her coach Aksel Lund Svindal, a double Olympic gold medallist, was again left to pick up the slack. “I hope you will talk to someone else tomorrow and I think you will,” he said smiling, after patiently working his way along the lines of television cameras and then facing the print media for another barrage of questions at the finish area. Reuters

Curling: Great Britain take a 2-0 lead over the USA after the first end of their mixed doubles round-robin match. With two red stones already in the centre of the house before GB’s hammer, Jen Dodds is able to glide the stone down and secure the points.

Women’s ice hockey: Germany have beaten Japan 5-2 in Group B of the preliminary round, with Nicola Hadraschek finding the net twice and goalscorer Laura Kluge setting up another three. Germany bounce back from their 4-1 opening defeat to Sweden.

Emily Nix and Daria Gleissner were also on the scoresheet in a game that Germany led 5-0 by the halfway point of the second period. Yumeka Wajima and Mei Miura scored 22 seconds apart late in the second period for Japan, who beat France in their opener.

Curling: The afternoon session of the mixed doubles is about to get under way. Here are the match-ups in Cortina’s curling stadium, with their current round-robin standings:

• Great Britain (1st) v USA (2)

• Sweden (5) v Italy (3)

• Estonia (7, joint) v Norway (7)

• South Korea (9, joint) v Czech Republic (9)

The top four go through to the semi-finals. A win for Team GB and they will qualify.

Men’s downhill: “It feels like a movie,” said Franjo von Allmen after claiming the first gold medal of the Milano Cortina Games in front of hundreds of Swiss fans who had crossed the nearby border, finishing well ahead of pre-race favourite and compatriot Marco Odermatt:

I felt relaxed in the morning and tried to keep the good feeling from the training runs and fit all the pieces together. I knew it was a good run but to be seven-tenths ahead of Marco, I was surprised.

While Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni produced a near-perfect run to take silver 0.20 seconds back, the 36-year-old Dominik Paris bagged his first Olympic medal with bronze on home snow:

It’s great to have this home crowd here. It’s my fifth Olympics, and getting the first medal in front of the home crowd, that’s really special.

Curling: Great Britain are 6/6 in the mixed doubles after beating Canada 7-5 this morning. Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat top the round-robin standings and are on the verge of reaching the semi-finals. Next they face the USA (4 wins out of 4) at 1.35pm (GMT).

“We’re going to try and get a good rest between the next game because they’re obviously undefeated as well,” Mouat said earlier. “I think we’re just in a very good spot and we’re communicating really well and we now know what the ice is going to do for the rest of the event I think. We’re happy with where we are.”

News on Mariah Carey and lipsync-gate in the opening ceremony from our correspondent in Milan:

Someone asks about Mariah’s Carey opening ceremony performance at this morning’s press conference: “Mariah Carey was exceptional, she was not paid for the Opening Ceremony,” Maria Laura Mascone of the Italian organisers replies. “We are very honoured … we were extremely satisfied with her performance.”

Was she lip syncing, Matt Lawton from the Times asks: “During all the ceremony, we always record but this is something that is used internationally,” comes the reply. “But yesterday’s performance was really extraordinary and the images can prove it to you all, because there was magic. “ Doesn’t sound like a no?

The organisers are asked if Mariah Carey used a teleprompter. “Yes, we had a teleprompter, especially for those artists who sang in a different language as they needed some support,” they reply. “It is a way to support the talents on the stage.”

The IOC’s Mark Adams then suggests that Carey did sing live. “I have to take my hat off to anyone who sings in a language that isn’t their native language.”

Women’s Skiathlon: Karlsson is way clear of Andersson now and will surely take gold for Sweden. Weng has gone past Slind into third and is gaining on Andersson but the gap (about 40s) is probably to big to bridge from here. Just over 5km to go.

Women’s Skiathlon: Sweden’s Frida Karlsson is making a break for gold with two laps of the circuit to go having broken free of the main pack alongside her compatriot Ebba Andersson, who is in silver-medal position.

Astrid Øyre Slind has got a fight on her hands for the bronze, with her fellow Norwegian Heidi Weng on her tail.

British curling duo Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat have extended an open invitation to McLaren’s Lando Norris to swap the track for the rink, after watching the Formula One world champion struggle with a miniature version of their sport.

In a video shared by McLaren on social media on Friday, Norris tried his hand at ’baby curling’ with little success, prompting Formula One fan Dodds to offer some professional guidance.

“Lando Norris, you can come and try curling up in Scotland at the NCA (National Curling Academy) anytime,” Dodds said after their win over Canada’s Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman. “There’s loads of great coaches up there. We can get you on ice and you don’t need to do baby curling, you can do actual curling.”

Briton Norris joked in the video about having advice for Britain’s curlers, an offer which Mouat was still happy to take, adding: “Lando, if you have any tips, please give them to us! He said he had a couple of tips but I think he was joking obviously. But Jen’s a massive fan. She has like McLaren tops and all, like she’s a proper fan!”

Mouat and Dodds have had an incredible start to their mixed doubles curling campaign at the Milano Cortina Olympics, winning their first six matches to put themselves on the verge of qualifying for the semi-finals. Reuters

Medal ceremony: The first gold medal of the Games is put round the neck of men’s downhill winner Franjo van Allmen and the Swiss national anthem plays in Bormio. It’s his first Olympic medal, aged 24. Giovanni Franzoni gets silver and Dominik Paris bronze – both of Italy.

Ice hockey: Germany’s women are giving Japan a bit of a hiding in Group B – they’re 4-0 up in the second period thanks to goals from Daria Gleissner, Emily Nix and two from Nicola Hadraschek. Germany themselves were well beaten, 4-1 by Sweden, in their opener while Japan edged France 3-2.

The Women’s 10km+10km Skiathlon has got under way in Tesero, with World Cup leader Jessie Diggins of the USA involved in a bit of a crash a few minutes into the race – she’s moving back up through the field as we speak. There are plenty of Swedes and Norwegians in the leading pack. It’ll be another half an hour before this one starts to come to a climax.

Thanks Barry. Let’s keep this rolling.

Men’s downhill: The glory is Franjo von Allmen’s but it’s a poignant moment for the Italian team with Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris in the medals. No doubt they will be thinking of Matteo Franzoso, their teammate who died aged 25 last year after a training crash in Chile. Franzoni was close to Franzoso and dedicated his first World Cup win last month to him.

Italy had won just three medals in the men’s downhill since 1948 – now they’ve added two more. Switzerland will have to lick their wounds, with Marco Odermatt, considered the favourite for gold by many, finishing outside the podium,

Handover: After all that excitement, I’m off for a break but will leave you in the capable hands of Billy Munday for the next couple of hours.

‘Penisgate’ update: Norwegian ski jumpers greeted with scepticism suggestions that anti-doping officials must now police their anatomy as well as their equipment after regulators said they would stay alert to rumors of athletes artificially enlarging their genitals to exploit suit rules at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

The World Anti- Doping Agency signaled it would watch for evidence of manipulation following reports raised fears of some male ski jumpers attempting to manipulate the 3D body-scanning measurements used to size competition suits by temporarily enlarging their penises. Skiing’s governing body also dismissed talk of competitors injecting paraffin or hyaluronic acid for aerodynamic gain.

For many of the Norwegian ski jumpers, talk of a creative attempt to gain extra inches in their jumps was met with skepticism and head-shaking, with several dismissing it as a gimmick and hearsay. “I do not think we need that kind of attention, and on the women’s side we are quite calm about the subject,” Norway women’s coach Christian Meyer said. “I have not seen anything like it, so I am also wondering whether it is true. I actually do not believe it, but if someone is that sick ...“

Ski jumper Anna Odine Stroem said the controversy reflected poorly on the sport. “If it takes something like this to get people watching ski jumping, I do not know what to think. It is sad that we need controversy for people to find our sport endearing or exciting,” she said. “That is not something we want in our sport,” Johann Andre Forfang added, while fellow Norwegian Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal suggested the spotlight would be better directed elsewhere.“All interest is good interest, but I wish it came more from what is happening on the hills,” Sundal said. Reuters

Norovirus news: Members of Switzerland’s women’s ice hockey team have been placed in isolation after one player tested positive for norovirus, hours before they were set to play the defending Olympic champions Canada. The game against Canada on Saturday will go ahead as scheduled, a Swiss spokesperson said.

Switzerland beat the Czech Republic in a thrilling shootout 4-3 on Friday. Switzerland said that the positive test came after that game and that the isolation measures were taken as a precaution. Canada were forced to postpone their opening game against Finland on Thursday after several Finnish players also fell ill with norovirus. That game has been rescheduled for 12 February. Reuters

Women’s Downhill: Lindsey Vonn has completed another successful downhill training run at the Milan Cortina Olympicsthis morning after tearing the ACL in her left knee last week. The 41-year-old American crossed the line in third position, 0.37 seconds behind leader and teammate Breezy Johnson.

Vonn is preparing to race the downhill on Sunday with a large brace covering her injured knee. She had a partial titanium replacement inserted in her right knee in 2024 and then returned to ski racing last season after nearly six years of retirement. She crashed during the final World Cup downhill before the Olympics.

Curling mixed doubles: Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds have further strengthened their position in the curling mixed doubles with a sixth win in the round-robin stage of the competition, which should be enough to earn them a berth in the semi-finals with three matches to spare.

Mouat and Dodds beat Canada 7-5 with an end to spare this morning, maintaining their perfect record so far in Cortina. They face the only other unbeaten side in the competition, the American pair of Corey Thiesse and Korey Dropkin, this afternoon.

Men’s Downhill: With just 11 lower ranked competitors left to take their chance, Swiss racer Franjo von Allmen leads and is on the brink of winning the first gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games. On a picture-perfect day in Bormio. Von Allmen powered through the challenging course in 1min 51.61sec.

His time was good enough to withstand the charge of Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni, who is in silver-medal position. Franzoni’s teammate, Dominik Paris, had a fast run to take over third and knock Marco Odermatt of Switzerland off the podium.

Men’s Downhill: One athlete after another tries to beat Franjo von Allmen’s time but none of them are getting close and most of the Big Guns have already taken their chance. The time to beat remains 1min 51.61sec. Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris are currently in second and third place respectively.

Women’s Freeski Slopestyle qualifying: While qualifying continues, Team GB’s Kirsty Muir has booked her place among the 12 women who will contest Monday’s final with a score of 64.98, the third best of the day so far. China’s Eileen Gu will also be in the final despite a disastrous first run this morning that earned her a score of 1.26.

Men’s Downhill provisional standings

1. Franjo von Allmen (Switzerland) 1min 51.61sec

2. Giovanni Franzoni (Italy) +0.20

3. Dominik Paris (Italy) +0.50

Men’s Downhill: The top three are separated by 0.5 of a second as one competitor after another hurtles down what is ostensibly a horizontal sheet of ice at speeds of up to 90 miles per hour. At one point, Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni took off and flew over 50 metres through the Italian morning sky before his skis touched the ground again. It is phenomenal, truly terrifying sport.

Men’s Downhill: Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni punches the air as he skis into the silver medal position, knocking Switzerland’s Monney down to third. Next up, Italy’s Domink Paris, another pre-race favourite, pushes Marco Odematt out of the medals to go into third.

Men’s Downhill: We have an all-Swiss podium as things stand. Marco Odermatt, onre of the race favourites, beat his compatriot Monney’s time to go top of the standings but has since been unseated by Franjo von Allmen. His time of 1min 51.61sec is the one to beat.

Curling mixed doubles: Despite a late wobble, Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat have competed their sixth consecutive win in the round robin stage of this competition, seeing off Canada 7-5. They will fac e the USA later today.

Men’s Downhill: Switzerland’s Alexis Monney pulls out all the stops to move into the gold medal position with a time of 1min 2.36sec, hitting a top speed of 87 miles per hour as he flew down the Selvio. Austria’s Daniel Hmetsberger is in second place, 0.22sec behind, while Canada’s Jack Crawford is 0.64sec behind in the bronze medal position.

Women’s Freeski Slopestyle qualifying: Having eaten snow in the very early stages of her first run, China’s Eileen Gu recovers to post a score of 75.30 to move into second place and bump Team GB’s Katy Muir down into third place with her second outing to come.

Men’s Downhill: To the fearsome Selvio piste, where only the bravest will duke it out for the first gold medal of these Games. A total of 35 men are taking to the gates on an incredibly steep, southern facing slope that rewards those who push to the very limit of their capabilities and courage. Austria’s Daniel Hemetsberger is first down the mountain, setting a time of 1min 52.58sec.

The longest course in the four alpine skiing disciplines, competitors in the downhill get just one run down the mountain. France’s Max Muzaton comes a cropper on his run down the mountain but is mercifully unhurt. In the leader’s chair, Hemetsberger points to an impressive shiner, sustained when he lost his helmet during a crash in training on Thursday.

Women’s freeski slopestyle: Competing at the Winter Olympics just two months after rupturing her ACL, Australian freeskier Daisy Thomas was ruled out of her first event after crashing at training. She has also qualified for the women’s freeski big air event which begins on 14 February and remains hopeful of taking part.

Opening ceremony: The US vice-president, JD Vance, was greeted by a chorus of boos when he appeared at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milan on Friday, although American viewers watching NBC’s coverage would have been unaware of the reception, writes Tom Lutz …

Opening ceremony: Andea Varnier, the official Milano Cortina 2026 spokesperson, is speaking at the daily press conference. “We believe we have achieved the biggest number of tickets sold for an Opening ceremony, with 61,221 tickets sold, and another 10,000 people watched remotely,” he says.

The IOC’s verdict is delivered by Games’ director Christophe Dubi: “The feeling I had was how elegant and beautiful the imagery was but how profoundly Italian and universal that ceremony was,” he says. “Values are universal, right? Goosebumps.”

Gallery: Roll up, roll up for the very best of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony in pictures …

Curling mixed doubles: We’re in the sixth end and Team GB have extended their lead over Canada to 7-2. Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat are quite literally sweeping all before them in the round robin stages of this comepetition and heading for their sixth consecutive victory.

Women’s Freeski Slopestyle qualifying: The big news from Livigno Snow Park is that China’s Eileen Gu, a triple medallist at the last Games in Beijing, took a tumble on the first very rail of the course. As qualification for slopestyle hinges on the best of two runs she’ll get a chance to redeem herself but the nerves will be jangling. Among the favourites for this competition, Team GB’s Kirsty Muir, 21, finished her first run with a score of 63.18, which puts her in second place.

Curling mixed doubles: Team GB are currently in action against Canada and having won their opening five matches before today, Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds are not so much knocking on the door to a place in the semi-finals as battering it down. They lead 5-2 against Canada at the break, with matches against the United States (today), Switzerland and defending champions Italy (tomorrow) to come.

The Opening Ceremony: The showpiece to kick off the Games happened across multiple venues but politics and protests were also present, writes Bryan Armen Graham.

The Briefing

Women’s Downhill: Lindsey Vonn passed a key test of her damaged knee on Friday as she completed her first downhill training run, keeping alive her hopes of a fourth Olympic meda. Skiing with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, the American clocked a time of 1min 40.33sec in her first official run in Cortina d’Ampezzo, and simply responded “yeah” when asked if “all good” by reporters.

The training was delayed for more than an hour owing to fog hanging over the Olimpia delle Tofane piste and Vonn entertained her teammates by singing along to some Usher. The Swiss team, including the reigning downhill Olympic champion Corinne Suter, passed the time by playing Yahtzee.

Italy’s Federica Brignone was the first to get all the way down the piste, with a time of 1:40.66, as she goes for a first Olympic gold after coming back from a double leg break just in time to compete.

“Some things were good, some things so-so,” Brignone said. “I’m trying to recover my leg because after skiing it’s always swollen and painful. I’m also working on my confidence because I’m still missing it.”

Curling Mixed Doubles: Jennifer Dodds said she and her partner Bruce Mouat had produced their best performances yet as the duo recorded another two wins in Friday’s round-robin matches in the mixed doubles curling competition. The pair beat Sweden 7-4 before a comprehensive 8-2 defeat of South Korea, with an end to spare in both games. “We said yesterday there were a couple of things we wanted to work on,” said Dodds. “We came out today and executed exactly what we wanted to do.”

The Team GB pair were also in a buoyant move after the American rapper Snoop Dogg asked for a photo. “We walked past and we were just kind of like ‘there’s Snoop Dogg’, a bit starstruck and we got ushered back,” said Dodds. “They said ‘he wants a selfie with you’ and we said ‘OK’. So, if Snoop Dogg’s team is reading this, can we please get the photo?”

Snoop Dogg, who was wearing a jacket that featured photos of the USA’s Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin, is an honorary coach for the team and took to the ice himself to have a try at sweeping a stone.

Lizzy Yarnold: There is a huge buzz for the Games that are the pinnacle for the athletes but competing through illness and injury is all part of the test, writes the former Team GB skeleton star who won gold medals at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics.

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