Winter Olympics 2026: curling, ski mountaineering, ice hockey and more on day 13 – live | Winter Olympics 2026
Key events
Shot for Norway, the last of the eighth, and they are aiming for two… but they drop their own stone and therefore have to settle for a poxy stone, and they lead 8-6. But a big finish for Canada next time and the 10th will be a gut punch.
A terrible stone from Retornaz in Italy means that what could have been a three will only be a two; after eight hours, Switzerland leads 7-5 and it’s not over yet.
Eeeee, Canada is close to a 7-6 record in the eighth, but Norway has the hammer; Italy too and has three stones in the house, so this one is not finished yet.
The sprint ski mountaineering events are over; the women’s semi-finals – there are two – take place at 11:55 a.m. and the men’s at 12:25 p.m., and we will then be fully involved in all of that.
Well, Canada closed the gap against Norway to 7-5. This, I imagine, will be good news for Great Britain who are keen to secure victory to avoid Switzerland in the last four. If Italy and Norway are both beaten, Great Britain will finish third in the pool and face the second-placed Cannucks.
…and it’s a three! After seven ends, Switzerland leads Italy 7-3 and Great Britain is almost in the semi-final. It will take a trip back through the ages to save this one for the hosts.
Switzerland reaffirms its position in men’s curling but, and although as I write, Italy scores one on the button, here is the last shot of the seventh end which gives the pool winners a three or four chance…
I’m not convinced by the shade of green, but I like Mattia Giovanella’s shoes.
Now then. A big blow from Italy, they have three… and end with two. Switzerland leads 4-3 playing the seventh and hammer.
It’s so special when someone special proves their specialness.
It shouldn’t be possible to win an alpine event by 1.5 seconds – and I guess it’s not, unless you’re Mikaela Shiffrin.
The Spaniards are first and second in the first round of the men’s ski mountaineering sprint; I didn’t realize there was such a home. You live and learn.
It also happens:
Ooooh, A double attempt to leave Norway… and it is there. They lead Canada 7-2 in the sixth and look ready for the final four.
The cross country starts at 1 p.m., and I’m looking forward to it. It is a scientific fact that there is no kind of race that a human can conceive of that is unconvincing.
In the Nordic, teams of two each try their hand at ski jumping and Germany has just taken the lead; they will begin the cross country with no time penalty, as Austria just completed that part of the course and only landed far enough away to finish fifth. Norway is second, Japan third and Finland fourth.
We’re heading back to men’s curling. If Switzerland and Norway win, the former will meet Great Britain in the semi-final, the latter Canada again.
Men’s ski mountaineering will soon start, the extent of the things that humans will invent to compete and have fun will never cease to amaze me. There are so many series and riders we’ve never heard of, it’s not easy to keep up, but we’ll keep watching, ramping up our participation as we move through the heats.
In Nordic combined, big springboard, Czechia is in the lead, Slovenia, China, Poland and Ukraine. We will visit them a little later when the cross country aspect starts.
Back with men’s curling, The score is now 4-1 against Switzerland – who are defending a 100% record – and that’s the score at half-time. Next, Norway leads Canada 5-2.
OK, I have the sprint ski mountaineering qualifications in progress – a new event, as shown below – and they are currently… going up the stairs? I think this time around I’m enjoying straight races – your biathlons and cross-country races of this world – events with everyone together and with a clear winner for everyone.
I wonder if Switzerland or Canada have considered taking a position. Of course, their competitive integrity would stop them, but they will have seen how well Britain played in the caning of the United States and thought it best for all concerned to get out.
Good and bad news from the leaf: Switzerland leads Italy 3-1 in the fifth, but Norway leads Canada 5-4 in the fourth.
Preamble
Good luck everyone and enjoy the 2026 Winter Olympics – three days!
No relaxation in this one: the final matches of the men’s curling pool are already underway, with Great Britain needing either first-placed Switzerland against Italy or second-placed Canada to face Norway. If either of those two things happens, Bruce Mouat and his boys will find themselves in the round of 16 – and from there, who knows?
And come lunchtime, the women get going, with Great Britain facing Italy, second-placed Switzerland and third-placed USA. It happens, they would also be in the final four.
In the meantime, there is the men’s and women’s ski mountaineering sprint – beginning event, series, semi and final – where you will have to be wary of Emily Harrop, French with British parents, who is the favorite. Then there’s the men’s Nordic combined team, both ski jumping and cross country, as well as the men’s half pipe qualifiers, so plenty to keep us going.
Then, this afternoon, it’s the Sweden-Switzerland bronze medal match in women’s ice hockey and the 1500m final in men’s speed skating, before all manner of evening wear – starting with the ladies’ singles figure skating free program.
Around the same time, Switzerland and Canada face Great Britain, Norway and Italy in the men’s curling semifinal, while the United States meets Canada in the women’s hockey final – there could be hard feelings – with the women’s halfpipe also underway. This one stars Zoe Atkin – a serious medal prospect whose sister Isabel won bronze in pentestyle 2018 – but Eileen Gu, defending champion and double silver medalist in big air and pentestyle, is one of many chasing gold.
Exactly! Andiamo!
