That’s about it from us today, join us tomorrow for the 16th and final day of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. It’s an action packed morning as Team GB flag carrier Brad Hall pilots the Four-Man Bobsleigh and Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin will compete in the re-arranged Women’s Freeski Halfpipe Final.
Thanks for your company and comments. It’s been a blast. Goodnight.
Men’s Ice Hockey: Finland are heading for the bronze medal, they lead Slovakia 4-1 in the third period. The Gold medal match takes place tomorrow at 1pm GMT, the USA and Canada will duke it out for that one.
Great Britain’s curlers take to the podium for their silver medals. They are clearly still utterly gutted but Bruce Mouat manages to summon a smile and a wave as he receives his second Olympic silver. Will they go again in four years time?
Eve Muirhead won Curling Gold in 2022 at the fourth time of asking. I wouldn’t bring that up with them just now but, y’know, the point stands.
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Sometimes the silvers you win feel more like the golds you lose”
Andy Bull is our man in Cortina and his report of curling final has landed:
Men’s Curling Final Reaction: Mouat and Hardie manage to get some words out. It’s emotional, powerful stuff.
“I’m a bit in shock” said an emotional Mouat. “We felt like we were the better team there. I don’t know what to say.”
He pauses for a good few seconds to gather himself.
“Regardless of the result, the incredible thing we will take away is the amount of people who have come out to support us and have messaged us from back home. The boys and I love our sport, we want people to come and join our sport. If we can take anything away from this week as well as the silver medal, it’s being able to inspire people to hopefully want to participate. That is an achievement in itself.”
“Our friendship is why we wanted to win it for each other” Hardie adds. “The pain from four years ago was that much, we thought we’d give it another go, we had the chance, but unfortunately we haven’t got there again.”
🥇 Gold (and silver) for Germany in the two woman Bobsleigh
We’ll stick with the reaction to the men’s curling final but elsewhere the German pair of Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi have taken gold in the two woman bob.
Germany also took silver with compatriots Lisa Buckwist and Neele Schuten 0.53 seconds slower. The USA pairing of Kaillie Armbruster Humphries and Jasmine Jones take bronze.
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Grant Hardie and Bruce Mouat are being interviewed by the BBC moments after defeat, both men look utterly dejected and Mouat in particular cannot find the words to reflect on the loss. He chokes back tears, it’s all too raw at the moment.
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🥇 Canada beat Great Britain 9-6 to take Men's Curling Gold
The dream is over for Great Britain. Canada take the Gold after a brilliant shot from their skipper Brad Jacobs leaves Bruce Mouat needing to take out two yellow stones with his final red stone… he can’t do it and Canada are jubilant! Great Britain dejected, heartbroken, it’s Olympic silver for them once again.
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Men’s Curling Final: Canada 8–6 Great Britain (10th End) Canada call a time out with a packed house, three yellows and three reds. They lay another one in there after a chinwag. Canada have two stones left, Great Britain have three. Bruce Mouat and co have to score two to take this Gold medal match to an extra end.
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Men’s Curling Final: Canada 8–6 Great Britain (9th End) Canada nearly land what would have been a HAMMER blow and score a four but their yellow stone chips Britain’s red out and slides out itself! What drama. Canada score three to take the lead but it could have been even worse fro Bruce Mouat and his men.
We have one end left now, Great Britain have the hammer and need to score two to take it to an extra end. They need to get their game back on, too many mistakes under pressure in the last couple of ends have let Canada take control of the match.
Men’s Curling Final: Canada 5–6 Great Britain (9th End) Great Britain call a time out and they need it. They are up against it in this penultimate end, Canada have a chance to take a three… in fact a FOUR…
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Two woman Bobsleigh: We interrupt this quick gnawingly tense men’s curling final to bring you happy news of Team GB’s Adele Nicoll and Ashleigh Nelson in the two woman bob final.
They clock a time of 57.80s in their final run, their quickest by a stretch and finish with an overall time of 3:51:83. We’ll find out a bit later on where that leaves them in the overall standings.
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Men’s Curling Final: Canada 5–6 Great Britain (8th End) Great Britain are pegged back in the eighth and have to settle for just one point. Its getting twitchy now, the crowd have quietened but it is the Canadians who are more vocal with their team taking the hammer into the ninth. They might try and blank this end and keep the hammer for the final one. Tactics, tactics.
Men’s Ice Hockey: Sebastian Aho has put Finland one nil up against Slovakia in the bronze gold medal match. Still in the first period of that game, as we’ve seen this week with the number of matches going to overtime, there’s a long way to go.
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Men’s Curling Final: Canada 5–5 Great Britain (7th End) Mouat with another wonderful stone that slides within a gnat’s eyebrow of the guarding yellow, his red ‘knocks and stops’ takes out the second yellow and forces the Canadians to just accept the one point with the hammer.
Britain have the hammer and the chance now to go two points up for the first time in the match.
Men’s Curling Final: Canada 4–5 Great Britain (6th End) Bruce Mouat’s piercing blue eyes stare down the sheet. He releases the final red stone of the end and it is pinpoint accurate! It takes out two yellows with a bounce off and Great Britain take two points and the lead.
Mouat is a man of few outward emotions but even he affords himself a fist pump after that one!
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Men’s Ice Hockey: Slovakia and Finland are about to puck off in the Bronze medal match. I’ll stay locked in on the curling but will bring you the big updates from that match.
Former GB Olympic Curling Gold medallist Vicky Wright is in the studio and sees that last stone as a big error from Canada:
I think GB have come out and continued their play from the semi-final. They have definitely got another gear they can go, but the boys are playing well. They are sitting at 88% so far, they are on it.
That was a massive miss from Brad Jacobs (in the fifth end). He wanted to make the double and blank this end out, but unfortunately he made the nose hit and took one point. That’s big.”
I know you were humming it:
Men’s Curling Final: Canada 4–3 Great Britain (5th End) A mistake from Canada and how costly that might be?
Bruce Mouat removes the Canadian yellow and leaves two reds resting together in the house…
Canada’s Brad Jacobs shapes to blank the end and keep the hammer but his final yellow stone doesn’t have enough gas on it! It stays in the house for one point. Canada lead at the halfway mark but they only got one for that end with the hammer and they’ve handed it to Great Britain for the start of the back five.
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As we’ve seen already this week, the Canadian team aren’t shy of a word or two…
Well they’ve also been very chatty between themselves in the match so far, every decision pored over and discussed. In Curling, each team is allocated 38 minutes of thinking time in the match. The clock stops when they start the delivery of their stone. Canada have burned through three more minutes of chat then Great Britain so far.
Men’s Curling Final: Canada 3–3 Great Britain (4th End) After a scrappy end with a few mistakes from Great Britain they “take their medicine” in the words of Steve Cram on the BBC commentary and settle for just the one point. All square after four, Canada have the hammer in the next.
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Marijke emails with the gossip on another Marijke…
“For Marijke Groenewoud it’s not only the gold medal today. Her boyfriend asked her to marry him in the area where family was waiting. Of course she said yes!”
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Meanwhile, the host broadcaster has not had the best Games:
Italy’s state broadcaster, Rai, was forced to apologise to the Jewish community on Saturday after an off-air remark advising its producers to “avoid” the Israeli crew was broadcast before coverage of the four-man bobsleigh event. The head of Rai’s sports division resigned this week after his error-ridden commentary at the opening ceremony two weeks ago triggered a revolt among its journalists.
On Saturday, viewers heard: “Let’s avoid crew number 21, which is the Israeli one,” and then: “No, because ...” before the sound was cut off.
“I firmly condemn the statements made today by a Rai journalist regarding the Israeli bobsleigh delegation at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics,” said Jonathan Peled, Israel’s ambassador, on social media. “There should be no room in sport for incitement to hatred, discrimination based on national, cultural, or religious beliefs, and any offensive rhetoric. We are confident that the RAI management will take all necessary measures to ensure that similar incidents are not repeated.”
Rai’s CEO, Giampaolo Rossi, said the incident represented a serious breach of the principles of impartiality, respect and inclusion that should guide the public broadcaster. He added that Rai had opened an internal inquiry to swiftly determine any responsibility and any potential disciplinary procedures.
In a separate statement Rai’s board of directors condemned the remark as “unacceptable“. The board apologised to the Jewish community, the athletes involved and all viewers who felt offended.
Rai is the country’s largest media organisation and operates national television, radio and digital news services.
The union representing Rai journalists, Usigrai, had said Paolo Petrecca’s opening ceremony commentary had dealt “a serious blow” to the company’s credibility. His missteps included misidentifying venues and public figures, and making comments about national teams that were widely criticised.
Reuters
Men’s Curling Final: Canada 3–2 Great Britain (3rd End) Great Britain have a chance to limit Canada to one but one of their final stones just bounces off leaving Canada with an easy draw for two with the final stone. Canada don’t fluff their lines and make the two to go into the lead. A long way to go of course, we’re going to be in for a tight match.
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Day 15’s pictures have landed and, as always, they are beautiful:
Men’s Curling Final: Canada 1–2 Great Britain (2nd End) Great Britain have started confidently, they set up the end and Bruce Mouat has an easy finish to secure two points with the final stone. No sign of nerves, Mouat is a picture of calm. A lone piper has snuck his wares into the arena and lets out a triumphant parp.
Men’s Curling Final: Canada 1–0 Great Britain (1st End) A nervous bladder for Bruce Mouat? Great Britain’s skipper nips off to use the facilities at the end of the end and thus misses Canada only scoring one with the hammer in the first end.
Canada’s Brad Jacobs draws in for one. Great Britain will be pleased with that (you should really be looking to score two with the hammer in your possession). Over to Bruce and the boys, after you’ve washed your hands big man!
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The BBC have done a nice little profile of each of the men who make up The Great Britain team. Hammy McMillan is described as “the lively one” though it was Grant Hardie who apparently necked champagne for the entirety of the 13-hour flight home to Scotland from Beijing after winning the silver medal in 2022. Hic!
Bruce Mouat: The skip or captain, he throws last and dictates the tactics. Calm, thoughtful, but fiercely competitive. Considered by many to be the best player in the world.
Grant Hardie: Mouat’s deputy, he will throw third. He’s the analytical one in the team and not afraid to speak his mind. Also drank champagne for the entirety of the 13-hour flight home from Beijing after winning silver.
Hammy McMillan: As the lead, he throws first. He’s the lively one of the team and one of the best sweepers in the world. Loves a carry on. He and Hardie are cousins.
Bobby Lammie: The quiet one but an “absolute freak of nature physically” according to those who train alongside him. Along with McMillan, he has reinvented the role of the sweeper.”
Canada have the hammer in the first end, the crowd are already very vocal as Great Britain’s Hammy McMillan sends the first stone down. Team GB are using the red stones, Canada the yellow.
I don’t know the collective noun but a gaggle of Bagpipers have just marched through the Curling arena and the teams are lined up and being introduced.
Scott is tuned in and cheering for Great Britain’s opponents – Canada.
“I have enjoyed your Olympic coverage but can’t say I’ll be cheering for your lads this match. Hey, not that you don’t have enough on your plate, but do you mind tracking any “Hurry Hard!” entreaties you hear from the skips during the contest? It’s the most compelling plea in the sport. Thanks in advance.”
Consider it done. The players are ready to go, let’s curl!
An email from Julia in Amsterdam:
“Hi James, It is worth noting that the Dutch speed skaters nearly all hail from one tiny province in the North of the country… Friesland. A proud but down to earth people, with their own flag and language - and a generations-deep relationship to skating on the ice. What Kenya and Ethiopia are to long distance running, Friesland is to speed skating. Glory to the Frisians!”
Julia goes on to note that she is a ¼ Frisian. Go figure, or rather, Speed.
Can Bruce and the boys follow in the brush strokes of Eve Muirhead’s team at Beijing in 2022 and Rhona Martin’s at Salt Lake City in 2002?
No men’s curling team has won an Olympic Gold since 1924 in Chamonix. Over a hundred years of history to defy then, no pressure lads.
Thanks Tanya and hello everyone. A shame we won’t see Zoe Atkin go for a medal in the postponed women’s halfpipe but from the coverage I’ve seen today it has been shedding snow down in Cortina today.
No snow falling inside the curling arena though as Bruce Moat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan go for Gold for Great Britain in the men’s curling. Their final match against Canada gets underway in about 30 minutes. Let’s push some granite!
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Time for me to shut up shop. Thanks for your company over the Games, it’s been so fun. Over to James for the curling, ice hockey and more. Bye!
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Going into the final medal straight, Norway have an unassailable lead with 18 golds, the USA are second with 11, and Netherlands just ahead of Italy, both with ten golds, in third and fourth.
Hello Kurt Perleberg!
“The Netherlands’ dominance in Speed Skating can also be compared to America’s dominance in Athletics and in Swimming.”
Wow, I’ve just checked out the medals table – the USA have 608 swimming Olympic medals, 265 of them gold. Next best is Australia with 232, 76 of them gold. Fun fact: East Germany is still third, despite having only existed for 40 years. That was one evil doping programme.
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I wonder if these sporting chiefs who align themselves with unsavoury powerful men will ever feel the ‘guilt and complicity’ talked about in this fantastic read on power dripping away.
IOC will not censure Infantino for link to Trump's Board of Peace
The International Olympic Committee will take no action against its member Gianni Infantino for a possible breach of political neutrality rules over aligning Fifa with the US president Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.
The IOC says the matter is closed and Fifa’s development work in Gaza is “entirely in keeping with the role of an international sport federation”. Trump hosted the peace board event on Thursday in Washington, D.C. which Infantino, the Fifa president, attended. When asked Friday about Infantino’s conduct, the IOC president Kirsty Coventry said it would look into a possible breach of neutrality.
AP
Record medal haul for the Dutch
Groenewoud and Bergsma’s golds have ensured that Milan-Cortina will be the Netherland’s most prolific Games. The Dutch now have 10 golds, beating the eight they collected in 2014, 2018 and 2022.
Their crushing domination of one sport is on a par with Kenya’s long-distance runners, Jamaica’s sprinters and Australia’s female cricketers.
Women's halfpipe postponed till Sunday
Our man on the ground Sean Ingle has news – persistent snow has knocked the women’s halfpipe into tomorrow due to “the inability to prepare the pipe in a safe and fair condition.” Expected to be tomorrow morning but tbc.
Speed skating: that was one nervous race, but Groenewoud had the sprint speed for one last lap. Silver medallist Blondin has a rueful smile and a shrug for her coach. Manganello looks thrilled with bronze.
🏅 Another speed skating gold for the Netherlands as Marijke Groenewoud wins the mass start
Speed skating: at the bell Groenewoud puts her foot down, drills down the back straight, the pack try – and fail - to stick with her boots. She wins, Blondin, arms swinging, takes silver, and Manganello the bronze.
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Speed skating: with two laps to go, it’s still too close to call.
Speed skating: the lead keeps swapping but Tas takes the front and gets a couple of metres ahead.
Speed skating: there are seven laps to go, everyone is bunched again, the coaches lean over the side panels and roar instructions.
Speed skating: Maltais rejoins the back of the train after everyone else dawdles along for a while.
Speed skating: Maltais falls, and is half a lap behind the pack by the time she’s got back on her skates.
Speed skating: they’re away first time (I’ve always wanted to write that) and process around the first lap, hands clasped behind backs like Merchant Ivory characters.
Speed skating: Ayano Sato, who must have survived a judges inquiry into her semi-final push, will be in pole position for this last skating race of the Games.
Key event
Speed skating: after the drama of the men’s race, the women line up for the mass start final. A third gold for Francesca Lollobrigida? Your guess is a good as mine. They mull about at the start.
Canada beat USA to take bronze in the women's curling
Curling: Canada do it, with a stone to spare! Canada 10-USA 7.
Will USA make it honours even when the two do battle again in the big ice-hockey finale tomorrow.
Speed skating: Viktor Hald Thorup has a good old cry of joy, he absolutely wasn’t expected to get a medal but stuck with wily old pro Bergsma and gets his reward. Bergsma grins and waves the Dutch flag. Giovannini half-heartedly celebrates bronze.
Everyone else looks thoroughly pissed off. Outwitted.
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🏅 Gold for veteran Dutchman Jorrit Bergsma in the speed skating
Speed skating: Age over young legs! 40 year old Bergsma conducts the crowd as he eases over the line, Denmark’s Viktor Hald Thorup holds on for second and Giovannini wins the scramble for bronze.
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Speed skating: with two laps to go Bergsma breaks away and goes alone, faster and faster!
Speed skating: six laps to go and Bergsma and Hald Thorup are still ahead, way ahead, bent over, rhythmic and gaining.
Speed skating: back to the speed skating arena, where the men’s final is galloping into speed. There has been a breakaway, with Jorrit Bergsma and Viktor Hald Thorup half a lap ahead.
Curling: USA are still in it! They take two from the ninth end and go into the tenth just one point down, Canada 8, USA 7.
But Can-a-da fans are out shouting those from U-S-A, and Canada have the hammer.
Love this summary of the Games by Emma, including a very funny joke about Surrey:
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Snow delays women's halfpipe final
Snowy deluges in Livigno have delayed the start of the women’s half pipe. Those in charge are due to update in about an hour on whether it can happen today or will have to run into Sunday.
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Women’s curling: Canada have a healthy lead, 8-5, coming into the ninth end. The USA have the hammer and need a little miracle.
Germany stay in race for 2036 Games, despite Nazi anniversary
Germany will remain in the running for the 2036 Summer Olympics despite its president expressing concern about the 100th anniversary of the Nazi-era Berlin Games, the nation’s Olympic sports head said on Saturday.
The German Olympic Sports Federation (DOSB) is due to decide later this year on putting forward a candidate from Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, and the Rhine-Ruhr region for the 2036, 2040 or 2044 Games.
The first of the three dates could be contentious, however. “The president views the year 2036 as historically problematic for a German bid,” a spokesperson for Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Thursday. But the DOSB president, Thomas Weikert, told reporters at the German House at the Winter Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo that all dates remained open.
“The IOC [International Olympic Committee] decides when the Games will come to Europe. It could be that they say that 2036 is for Asia or Africa,” he said. “Therefore, my answer is that we have to be ready to organise the Games [whenever they decide]. This concerns all three editions. We want to show a positive Germany. This would also apply to 2036.”
Reuters
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Speed skating: ignore me, Myers has been eaten up by the pack, with Lollobrigida in the lead, but they’re still bunched up like rush hour at Oxford Circus.
At last they go, just before the bell, stringing out in a line with Groenewoud first, and home favourite Lollobrigida second.
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Speed skating: Myers looks behind her but she’s still got a lead and the main pack are all over the place in a block, looks like an accident waiting to happen.
Speed skating: Greta Myers of the USA accelerates off a sprint lap and soon has a lead of the back straight.
Speed skating: time for semi-final two: skin suits ready, helmets on.Sixteen laps of the track – the first is a procession behind Marijke Groenewoud, who gets that honour by being seeded No. 1.
Speed skating: replays show Ayano Sato gave Valérie Maltais a little shove on her way through – one for the judges.
Speed skating: the first eight go through to each semi final. It’s all about tactics, say the commentators: securing your spot while conserving enough energy for the final. A sprint finish at the bell and the race is won by Japan’s Ayano Sato with all the big guns getting through including Mia Manganello and Valérie Maltais.
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Speed skating: let’s zip back to the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, where the first women’s semi-final mass start is already up and skating. It’s an intermediate sprint lap – which gives the winner three bonus points – before they slip back into Starlight Express formation.
GB’s Chef de Mission Eve Muirhead is crossing every finger for two more golds later today - in the men’s curling (18.05 GMT) and women’s halfpipe (18.30 GMT).
Great Britain Chef de Mission Eve Muirhead hopes a “Super Saturday” grand finale can put the seal on the nation’s best Winter Olympics. Bruce Mouat’s men’s curling team and ski halfpipe star Zoe Atkin both go for gold in Cortina and Livigno respectively on a day that could once again send records tumbling.
Britain’s biggest medal haul at a single Winter Games is five in both 2014 and 2018, and Mouat and Atkin could ensure Team GB match that tally in gold medals alone.
“I’m really looking forward to ‘Super Saturday’,” Muirhead said. “I think it’s important that we keep the momentum. We want to finish the Games on a high. One thing I came out here to do was make sure we had the same energy from start to finish and we’ll make sure we are doing that tomorrow.”
Victories for Mouat and Atkin could help shunt Great Britain alongside Winter Olympic giants like Austria, Japan and China in the medals table, which is usually ordered by number of golds.
PA
Women’s Curling: another north American match up as Canada and the USA play off for the bronze medal. A shonky final USA stone of the sixth end curls off and away, and Canada take three to leap ahead 5-3.
Guardian photographer Tom Jenkins turns his lens on Milan’s fashion parade:
Reader Erin Emme has a bone to pick with the commentators:
“Announcers keep saying so and so is from Jackson Hole, WY. It’s just Jackson, not Jackson Hole. Jackson Hole is the valley and the airport. Jackson is the town.
”If you could clarify that for the readers, this Wyomingite would appreciate it.”
Duly done and here is a picture of a local Jackson moose to smooth things over.
Speed skating: another man down, this time Wenger of Switzerland, who over balances and finishes tenth to miss out on a place in the final.
The race is won by Timothy Loubineaud of France, with Yu Wu of China second and the Netherland’s Stijn van de Bunt third. The quickest eight – yet to be confirmed - will skate in the final at 3.40 GMT.
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Thanks Billy! a mindblowing amount of winter sports going on today. First to Milan where there are three laps to go in the men’s mass start. One Norweigan skater is down…
Tanya Aldred is back and will see you through the afternoon’s action on the penultimate day of these Winter Games. Enjoy.
Speed skating: We’ve just had the first semi-final of the men’s mass start event with Canada’s Antoine Gelinas-Beaulieu winning the first of two. The American star Jordan Stolz is also safely through in fourth. The top eight from each semi qualify for this afternoon’s final.
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Team GB 'right in the mix' for bobsleigh medal
Brad Hall has not given up on hopes of an Olympic medal for the British four-man bobsleigh team.
Hall and teammates Taylor Lawrence, Leon Greenwood and Greg Cackett were third after their first run at the Cortina Sliding Centre on Saturday morning, but they dropped time and fell to seventh place after their second run.
Hall said: “The first run felt great but I don’t know what’s happened with that second run. It felt good, so I was pretty surprised to drop back four places. We’ll have a good look at what went wrong and hopefully put it right tomorrow.
“We’re a couple of tenths away, so it’s not all hope lost. This track is very tricky and, as you’ve seen in the other races – the monobob, two-man, two-women – things can flip on their head very quickly and you can lose half a second.
“You see a lot of people skidding out of the grooves and going way back, that sort of thing can happen. We’ve still got to come back tomorrow fighting, hopefully put these things right and make fewer mistakes than everyone else.
“It’s a tricky track, if you fall asleep or you’re not taking it seriously, sometimes it can catch you off guard.”
Lawrence added: “That first run was storming, all the boys were really pushing to the max and that’s where we need to be. We showed we are in medal shape and Brad’s driving was phenomenal. We feel we’re right in the mix.”
Britain’s team are 0.82 seconds behind the leading German team piloted by Johannes Lochner, with the other medal positions filled by German squads. Hall’s team are 0.23s off bronze medal position.
Three teams – from Austria, France and Trinidad and Tobago – crashed during their second runs, with the Austrian Jakob Mandlbauer taken to hospital for further medical checks. PA Media
Women’s biathlon: Germany’s 2025 World Cup title winner Franziska Preuss (28th) and Italy’s veteran Dorothea Wierer (5th) enjoy a lap of honour down the straight with their respective national flags. Everyone seems pretty happy.
“For both ladies this was the last race of their lives – both retire today,” emails Gisrenist. “Hence the celebrations, the flowers, the champagne, the hugs and banner reading ‘Danke Grazie Thank you’.”
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Women’s biathlon: Lots and lots of tears at the finishing line. There are tears of joy in Michelon’s case as she hugs her mother, then there’s Vobornikova who dropped from first to third in the final stages.
🏅 Oceane Michelon (Fra) wins women's 12.5km biathlon mass start
Oceane Michelon, 23, has time to celebrate as she crosses the line! Her French teammate Julia Simon put together a really strong finish to win silver, with Vobornikova hanging on for bronze.
Gold: O Michelon (Fra) 37min 18.1sec
Silver: J Simon (Fra) +6.6s
Bronze: T Vobornikova (Cze) +7.4s
That is gold No 6 from 11 biathlon events for France.
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Women’s biathlon: Michelon makes her move and leaves Vobornikova for dead. The Czech athlete needs to fall into her slipstream because she’s behind chased by Sweden’s Anna Magnusson.
Women’s biathlon: Vobornikova is being screamed at by a Czech coach running by the side of the course. Michelon is right on her heels on the final downhill section. It’s looking ominous.
Women’s biathlon: We’re at the business end of the 12.5km mass start event with Tereza Vobornikova of the Czech Republic heading up the last climb in gold-medal position. France’s Oceane Michelon is right on her tail though! The gap is 3.1sec and there are others in the mix.
Lunchtime reading
Bryan Armen Graham runs through the craziest stories from Milano Cortina 2026, from the Norwegian biathlete who revealed he had cheated on his girlfriend to the wolfdog who took part in a women’s cross-country skiing qualifier.
Andy Bull writes up Johannes Høsflot Klæbo’s historic achievement from his vantage point in Tesero.
Yara El-Shaboury’s newsletter led on how a court room battle was put to bed in the women’s ski cross
… and the Swedish biathletes taking a swipe at their technicians after their failures in the men’s mass start.
Women’s curling: Canada level things up at 1-1 after two ends, hitting their hammer off one of the American stones to score a single point. Bronze is up for grabs in this one.
Klæbo reaction: Norway’s skiers have been speaking to the press after Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won his historic sixth gold medal of these Olympics in the 50km mass start.
Klæbo himself said:
It’s unbelievable. It still feels really good to race, and I’m always looking forward to going out there and fighting for the medal.
Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget (silver) said:
I’m starting to believe maybe he is a machine. It’s close to impossible to beat him in the finish.
A couple more events are getting under way this lunchtime. In Cortina, it’s Canada v USA in the bronze-medal match of the women’s curling. In Rasen-Anthol, the starting gun has sounded for women’s 12.5km mass start in the biathlon.
Bobsleigh: The Austrian pilot Jakob Mandlbauer has been taken to hospital after his bob turned over during the second heat. Mandlbauer was treated on the track for around 20 minutes and taken to hospital with neck pain. His teammates were checked at the track and apparently unhurt.
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Bobsleigh: Let’s take a look at the 4-man standings after the second heat that finished in the last hour. Great Britain’s team led by Brad Hall have dropped down after finishing the first heat in third.
1. Germany (J Lochner) 1min 48.61sec
2. Germany (F Friedrich) +0.43s
3. Germany (A Ammour) +0.59s
4. Switzerland (M Vogt) +0.71s
7. Great Britain (B Hall) +0.82s
It’s tight!
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Bobsleigh: Germany may be out front in the four-man bobsled, but the nation’s relative lack of success at the Milan Cortina Games from four years ago has seen them slide down the medals table, and an unwanted status as the team with the most fourth-placed finishes.
From ending Beijing 2022 as the second most successful nation, Team Deutschland headed into the closing weekend fifth overall. German athletes have finished fourth 12 times and the hope of finishing third overall in the table has gone.
Of the 22 medals won by Saturday, six were gold – behind the Netherlands on eight. Hosts Italy were in third place on nine golds and with 27 medals. Germany won 27 medals in Beijing, of which 12 were gold. Reuters
Skimo relay: That’s redemption of sorts for Emily Harrop, who was fancied to win the individual women’s race for France but finished behind Switzerland’s Marianne Fatton. It was her blistering first lap that set up Thibault Anselmet nicely, although his final lap was just as impressive.
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Skimo relay: The USA are best of the rest, followed by Italy, Austria, Germany, China, Poland, Norway and Slovakia. Australia are miles behind with Phillip Bellingham still trudging up the steps.
🥇 France win the mixed skimo relay
Thibault Anselmet crosses the line and wins gold alongside Emily Harrop! Switzerland finish in silver-medal position.
Gold: France 26min 57.4sec
Silver: Switzerland +11.9s
Bronze: Spain +26.5s
Oriol Cardona Coll collapses in a heap and Spain will, as it stands, win bronze despite a three-second penalty for their handover.
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Skimo relay: Anselmet heads up the steps. Kistler, chest exposed to the elements with his zip down, is 11 seconds behind on the final descent. Anselmet is celebrating already.
Skimo relay: Kistler gained a couple of seconds on the first descent of the final lap. Cardona Coll is 15 seconds further back in third but needs a big gap to fourth with Spain facing a time penalty.
Skimo relay: Anselmet has re-established a 10-sec lead on Switzerland’s Kistler after the first ascent. It was some climb from the Frenchman.
Skimo relay: Individual gold medallist Cardona Coll retakes third place for Spain but they will face a penalty after Alonso overstepped the handover line by quite a distance.
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Skimo relay: Fatton has done wonders for Switzerland! There is barely anything separating Anselmet in gold and Kistler after the handover. Spain have dropped out the medal places.
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Skimo relay: Gibson of the USA drops her pole on the steps but recovers to set off after Alonso Rodriguez. Fatton is closing on Harrop – 11.8sec the gap to first. Anselmet takes over for the final lap as he seeks gold for France.
Skimo relay: Fatton has opened up a sizeable gap on Alonso Rodriguez, who is being chased by Italy and the USA now. Harrop is up the steps and on her way to the final descent.
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Skimo relay: France’s Harrop heads for the first descent of lap three with a huge 27.9-second lead! Switzerland and Spain are surely fighting for silver now. The USA and Italy are not totally out of medal contention.
Skimo relay: Alonso Rodriguez and Fatton are heading up the first ascent together as they try to reel in Harrop. Fatton won gold in the individual event, so the chase is on.
Skimo relay: Anselmet heads down the second descent with a 12-second lead over the Swiss, although it was 18 back to the Spaniards in third at one point during the Frenchman’s lap. He hands back over to Harrop.
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Skimo relay: The men are off up the first climb in pursuit of France’s Anselmet after some smooth handovers. He held a 9.5sec lead at the handover.
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Skimo relay: This is the first of 4 laps – the women and men alternate. Harrop has a 10-second lead over Alonso Rodriguez (Spa) and Fatton (Swi) as she hands over to her French teammate Anselmet.
Skimo relay: Harrop has an 8-second lead as she storms up the slope towards the stairway.
Skimo: The mixed relay is under way! The women tackle the course (a different one to the individual events) before their male counterparts head for the line. Emily Harrop of France has built up a substantial lead as she comes down the first descent.
🥇 Simone Deromedis (Ita) wins men's ski cross
In all the Klaebo excitement, the men’s ski cross finals have concluded with Italy’s Simone Deromedis beating his teammate Federico Tomasoni to the title on home snow!
Gold: Simone Deromedis (Ita)
Silver: Federico Tomasoni (Ita)
Bronze: Alex Fiva (Swi)
Fourth: Satoshi Faruno (Jpn)
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Men’s 50km mass start final standings:
1. JH Klaebo (Nor) 2hr 6min 44.8sec
2. ML Nyenget (Nor) +8.9s
3. E Iversen (Nor) +30.7s
4. T Schely (Fra) +2m 59.7s
5. S Korostelev (AIN) +3m 38.3s
6. A Musgrave (GB) +3m 58.7s
Plenty of athletes still coming over the line.
Thanks Tanya. Yes, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo wins his sixth gold – a record for one athlete at a single Winter Olympics. The 29-year-old now has 13 Olympic medals in total (11 golds!).
Eric Heiden of the USA won five golds in speed skating at the 1980 Lake Placid Games.
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Part man, part ice, part snow god – Klæbo smiles with excellent teeth and hugs the mortals who compete for the other places. It has been such a joy to watch him this week. And with that, over to Billy for the lunchtime slot.
🥇 Klæbo wins historic gold number six!
Men’s 50km mass start: Klaebo smiles and almost at a standhill crosses the line and immediately collapses in a heap. Nyenget gave it his best shot but seems happy with silver, and Iversen finishes third for a Norwegian clean sweep.
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Men’s 50km mass start: And Klæbo pounces! Like a sports car, he accelerates up the hill, Nyenget has nothing left.
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Men’s 50km mass start: Nyenget still has the lead – just. One big hill, legs somehow still swinging, slip, slop. They can hear the cowbells and cheers of the stadium. One km to go.
Men’s 50km mass start: Nyenget powers up the hill. But he can’t shake Klæbo off. They tuck into position down the hill with 2.2km to go.
Men’s 50km mass start: can Nyenget hold Klæbo off? Klæbo nestles comfortably on his shoulder, confident of his better finish.
Men’s 50km mass start: Saveily Korostelev is still in fourth following behind, as the Norweigians pile ahead, and Klaebo and Nyenget havenow broken away from Iversen, who stumbles and is now eight seconds behind.
Men’s 50km mass start: three slim limb red suits in a line. None has changed their skis throughout the race. They round a wooden chalet, digging their poles into the snow.
Men’s 50km mass start: as the Norweigians head into the wilderness, GB’s Andrew Musgrave is sixth at the bell.
Men’s 50km mass start: the three Norweigians start the final loop, nearly two minutes ahead of the rest. Klaebo is currently in third, but only by half a ski’s length.
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An email drops, hello there John Donoghue.
“Looks like Christopher Lillis isn’t a Loser!”
Wasn’t that aerial perfection just the perfect riposte!
Bobsleigh: after that horrible crash, the fourth Austrian athlete has been stretchered away. Wishing him the very best in his recovery.
The action has restarted, with the Romanian quartet very pleased with their time. I can’t get my head around how difficult mentally it must be to go hard when you’ve seen a crash happen before your eyes. But these athletes are cut from granite.
Men’s 50km mass start: back to the muscle-melting endurance test, where it’s still a Norweigian one-two-three and Klaebo is is on the cusp of his sixth gold. There’s about half an hour to go.
GB’s Andrew Musgrave is busy in seventh, Joe Davies in 13th.
A bad wax job
Sweden’s biathletes have struggled to deliver medals at the Winter Games and on Friday they finally ran out of patience with their waxing team, blaming a bad job on their skis for an embarrassingly poor performance in the men’s mass start.
Usually counted among favourites in any biathlon event, the Swedes had a dismal day in the final men’s race of the Games, with Sebastian Samuelsson finishing 18th, Martin Ponsiluoma 21st and Jesper Nelin 26th in the 30-man field.
“The skis were the worst I ever had. They were crap,” a frustrated Samuelsson told Swedish TV after the race. “Today the glide from the skis was very bad ... I’m here to fight for medals, but today I go without.“
Ski waxing is one of the most important elements of race preparation for biathletes and cross-country skiers, and getting the blend right for the combination of snow, temperature and altitude helps the athletes fly around the course, while getting it wrong makes it akin to skiing through treacle.
Reuters
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Bobsleigh: worrying news from the sliding centre, where there has been a crash. The unfortunate Austrian team, piloted by Jakob Mandlbauer, hit a corner, toppled over and slid a fair section of the track on the side of the sleigh. We’re told that three members of the team got out but one is still being attended to.
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🥇The USA take team gold in the aerials
Mixed team aerials: Christopher Lillis, who won Donald Trump’s ire after saying he was heartbroken over events in the US, nails the jump, punches the air, gets 117.19 and the gold goes to the USA! Switzerland take a surprise silver, and China must be content with bronze.
Mixed team aerials: another rag and bone landing by the Chinese, as Li Tianma loses his skies and tumbles down the slope like a tennis ball. He sits at the bottom with his head in his hands. Big favourites China will not win gold and go into silver behind Switzerland with one jump to come.
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Mixed team aerials: Australia’s Reilly Flanagan is next, and he nails it too, with excellent rotation and a balletic landing. Australia go second behind the Swiss, but China and USA to come.
Mixed team aerials: A flying leap and multiple twists with a neat landing – the moustached Noe Roth of Switzerland gets the biggest score of the day!
Mixed team aerials: Connor Curran does enough to put the USA first with a fat 24-point lead with one round to go. As they stand:
USA - 208.16, China - 184.31, Switzerland - 167.37, Australia - 160.16.
Mixed team aerials: We’re in jump two of three. “Stretch, stretch, stretch!” comes the coach’s shout, but China’s individual gold-medal winner Wing Xindi lands awkwardly and tumbles dramatically nose between tail. Hmmm. He stretched, apparently, too much. His 87.72 puts China first, but the Americans are to come.
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Medal event timings
All times in GMT.
Now: men’s 50k mass start🥇
Now: mixed team aerials 🥇
1.10pm: men’s ski cross 🥇
1.30pm: mixed relay ski mountaineering 🥇
2.05pm: women’s curling bronze-medal match USA v Canada🥉
2.15pm: women’s biathlon 12.5km mass start🥇
4.40pm: men’s speed skating mass start 🥇
5.15pm: women’s speed skating mass start 🥇
6.40pm: men’s ice hockey bronze-medal match Finland v Slovakia 🥇
7.05pm: men’s curling final GB v Canada🥇
9.05pm: two-woman bobsleigh🥇
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Men’s 50km mass start: the front-skiers are off and away – Norway 1,2,3: Nyenget, Iversen, Klaebo, the Frenchman Loverra and neutral athlete Korostelev. GB’s Musgrave is in a desperate race to lead the peloton back into contention.
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Men’s 50km mass start: after two laps the pace is telling. As three Norwegians break away up an incline, two of the big names drop out: Harald Andundsen and Iivo Niskanen.
Mixed team aerials: our finalists are sorted: the USA, China, Australia, and Switzerland will fly through the air for the medals – going again in about five minutes
Men’s four-man bobsleigh: with everyone down the course, Brad Hall’s GB quartet remain third, with Germany taking the top two spots. Run two starts around 11am GMT.
1. Germany (pilot Johannes Lochner) 53.91 seconds
2. Germany (Francisco Friedrich) 54.30
3. Great Britain (Brad Hall) 54.39
4. Switzerland (Cedric Follador) 54.49
5. Germany (Adam Ammour) 54.51
Men’s ski cross: the seeding is done and dusted in preparation for the knockout rounds at 11am GMT. GB’s Ollie Davies finished in 28th place.
Canada’s Reece Howden was the quickest, followed by Satoshi Furuno of Japan and Beijing champion Ryan Regez.
Feast your eyes on these gorgeous photographs. I particularly like Tom Jenkins’ eyes right portrait of Connor Hellebuyck.
Men’s 50km mass start: GB’s Andrew Musgrave, who has had a great games, is currently in 11th. Finland’s beast Iivo Niskanen takes the lead from Nyegenget and Klaebo, though there’s much pondering over how bad his cold is.
This race takes two hours, so let’s nose about the rest of the schedule.
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Men’s 50km mass start: Martin Nyenget has taken a early lead – the commentators reckon he’s trying to break Klæbo, who has taken on the chase at the start of the chasing pack, and in fact has almost reeled him in already.
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Men’s 50km mass start: I’m slightly disappointed that this isn’t one of those cross-country carnage running starts with everyone strung out one straight line. But it’s pretty fun, they’re queuing up, in seeding order, in four lines. You know who is pole position, in his now familiar white hat. In fact, Norway take the top four spots.
Off they go, sliding through the tracks.
Each skier is allowed to change skis once during the race – at the start of any of the seven laps of 7.2 k. The assistants carefully lay them out.
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Time to have a quick look at what else is going on – the brutal 50km men’s mass start is off soon, at 10am GMT; while the US are currently winning the team aerials midway through jump one at the Livigno Aerials & Moguls Park. But the Chinese, including husband and wife gold medal stars Xu Mengtao and Wang Xindi, are yet to jump.
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Men’s four-man bobsleigh: Yorkshireman Axel Brown is the pilot for Trinidad and Tobago, they’re a bit slow into the tin, and finish in last place.
Men’s four-man bobsleigh: Ok, so Israel, Trinidad and Tobago (soon to come) and Jamaica are hamstrung by not having seen the track until a few weeks ago. Thank you commentators. Israel go 20th, Jamica 18th.
Men’s four-man bobsleigh: saved by iplayer. Everyone’s favourite Olympians, the iconic Jamiacan bobsleigh team. Great kit, and a cracking coloured sleigh, as you’d expect, but it’s a bit of a wobble and they can only finish 18th.
One of the team is former GB sprinter Joel Fearon, who won bronze with John Jackson’s team in 2014.
“For their time and experience on the track,” says JAckson, “its’a good run.”
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Men’s four-man bobsleigh the last three riders in the sleigh are basically power for two seconds and ballast for the rest. No! The BBC have pulled away shortly before the Jamaicans go… let me see if it is on iplayer.
Men’s four-man bobsleigh In the workshop, a man carefully waxes down a sleigh. Another Canadian team next, under Dearborn, but they can’t improve on their countrymen.
Men’s four-man bobsleigh: The French have a cracking silver sled, but it all goes wrong at the start when one of the riders gets his foot stuck.
The USA rumble down nicely, and finish eighth, especially when you consider that this happened only last month to driver Kris Horn.
Men’s four-man bobsleigh: Taylor Austin snaps his visor into place, taps the bob, and that’s the sign for the sprint start, Canada fold into place smoothly, and it’s a decent run but not enough to trouble the leaders.
Men’s four-man bobsleigh: With their chunky build and primary colours, the sleighs remind me of those 10p-and-ride-me aeroplanes that you used to find at the supermarket.
Two Swiss teams, the South Koreans and Italians have rattled down, but none have troubled the top three places: with Germany one and two, and GB in third.
Men’s four-man bobsleigh: The Austrians hit the wall almost as soon as they’ve folded into position, bouncing off another for good measure, and finish, in bob-time, a huge +0.89 behind the leaders.
Men’s four-man bobsleigh: Team GB, in a royal blue bob are next. Brad Hall drives/steers? well and they’re very happy to slip into bronze. These are not slips of men, they’re big units and it is incredible how they fold into little balls.
Hang about, how many German teams are there? Germany two and Germany three are next in their bobs, but neither are as quick as Lochner’s quad.
We’re off, immediately, to the Cortina Sliding Centre. The first German team, under pilot Johannes Lochner, are ready: four of them sprinting, pushing the bobsleigh, and then hopping in like sardines into a tin – they rattle and roll along smash the track record immediately.
Aha! Hazel Irvine is on hand to remind me me that men’s four-man bob competition also gets underway today, and very soon.
Preamble
Good morning! Golds galore on this, the penultimate day of the Games. So let’s fold – we are in Italy – up our sleeves and get stuck in.
Gold, gold, gold on the slopes, in the skiing mixed team, men’s ski cross and women’s half pipe – where GB’s Zoe Atkin, the world champion, qualified in first place.
Gold number six dangles for Johannes Høsflot Klæbo in the legendary men’s 50km mass start, with other prizes for everyone else.
After lunch, more glistening gongs in the mixed relay of the ski mountaineering – really looking forward to this one - and gold in the women’ s 12.5k mass start biathlon – Norweigian red v French blue.
Away from the slopes, Bruce Mouat’s men get the medal match they’ve been waiting for, after a circumlocutious route, the battle for curling gold against Canada. That starts at 7.05pm GMT; while the women’s bronze match between the USA and Canada curls off this afternoon.
Thrills and spills in the speed skating, with the men’s and women’s mass starts from 4.40pm GMT. And on a different rink, the losing semi-finalists, Finland and Slovakia, fight for bronze in the men’s ice hockey.
One final gold of the day in the two-woman bobsleigh, just after nine. Germany’s Laura Nolte and Deborah Levi lead after the heats and are favourites for gold
There’s room on the sofa, jump on.
