Tag: 2026

Explore the latest developments concerning Winter Olympics 2026.

Winter Olympics 2026 live updates: Today’s latest from the Games, including curling

While the opening ceremony isn't until Friday, the first event of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics takes place today.

Curling kicked off the competitive action with four mixed doubles matches, while there were training runs for the alpine skiers and training in the men's luge this evening. You can find the full 2026 Winter Olympics schedule here.

You can follow The Athletic's Olympics coverage here (click 'follow' in the top right-hand corner) and go here for The Athletic's full live coverage schedule this week.

The action continues tomorrow here at Milan-Cortina with more curling to kick the day off, followed by (hopefully) alpine skiing practise sessions.

Winter Olympics 2026: First event interrupted by power outage after 5 minutes

The 2026 Winter Olympics had some major infrastructure questions in the past weeks and months. The first five minutes of competition in Italy didn't provide much reason for confidence in that regard.

While the Opening Ceremony isn't scheduled until Friday, the first event of the Milano Cortina Games was held Wednesday with a set of mixed doubles curling matches. Roughly five minutes into the action, a partial darkness fell due to a partial outage.

With clocks and scoreboards also down, play was immediately halted. Per The Athletic, the lights stayed out for about three minutes and the total delay lasted about five minutes, during which the athletes mostly joked around and played air guitar with their brooms.

Olympic curling competition, luge training briefly delayed

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — The 2026 Winter Olympics opened competition Wednesday night with the first curling matches on the schedule in Cortina only for the action to come to a brief halt because of a power outage.

Officials paused the matches at the historic curling stadium when the lights dimmed and flickered and the main lights and heat in a nearby media center went out. Curlers kept sliding on the ice to stay ready and fans cheered when the bright lights came back soon after and play resumed.

Olympic organizers acknowledged the "brief interruption to competition due to an energy-related issue" and noted it lasted approximately three minutes. It snowed steadily all day in Cortina, with more than 8 inches (20.32 centimeters) in some places. The start of the opening luge training session for men's singles was also delayed a half-hour due to the outage.

For more detailed information, explore updates concerning Winter Olympics 2026.

For more news…

Explore the latest developments concerning Winter Olympics 2026:.

Winter Olympics 2026: what you need to know if following from Australia

When does the action begin? How to watch live? And are there any genuine heated rivalries? Your questions about the Milano Cortina Games answered

The 2026 Winter Olympics officially open in the early hours of Friday 7 February, Australian time, with the opening ceremony at Milan’s San Siro stadium. The Games run for two weeks, culminating in the closing ceremony on 23 February in Verona at the same time of 6am AEDT.

Several sports with packed schedules, including curling and ice hockey, begin a couple of days before the opening ceremony. Australia’s mixed curling team just missed out on qualifying, despite being ranked No 1 in December last year, while Australia won’t be represented in ice hockey in Italy. The ice hockey will be the final event of the Games with the men’s gold-medal game at 12.10am AEDT on 23 February.

Best medal hopes? When is it? Everything to know about Australia at the 2026 Winter Olympics

You have reached ESPN's Australian edition. Stay on current site or go to US version.

Steven Bradbury recounts his miracle triumph in 2002 as ESPN celebrates Australia's finest sporting moments. (2:15)

We've answered every (Australian) question you can possibly have about the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy. Who are the Aussies to keep an eye on? How can we watch them in Australia? When does it start? How many gold medals have Australia won at the Winter Games?

The 2026 Winter Olympics begin with the Opening Ceremony on Feb. 6, and conclude with the Closing Ceremony on Feb. 22.

However, several events start before the Opening Ceremony. Curling begins on Feb. 4, while ice hockey competition and some snowboarding events begin the following day. In total, there will be 19 days of action at these Winter Olympics.

Our Olympic gold hope? Meet the young guns who are ready to stun the world

Your digital subscription includes access to content from all our websites in your region.
Access unlimited news content and The Canberra Times app. Premium subscribers also enjoy interactive puzzles and access to the digital version of our print edition – Today's Paper.

If there's one thing Australians do well at the Winter Olympics, it's punching above their weight.

And days away from Games starting on February 4, one sporting legend believes two local hopefuls could be wearing gold in the most successful Games ever for Australia.

Beijing's record-setting four-medal haul in 2022 of one gold, two silver and a bronze is on track to be beaten at Milano-Cortina, says Channel Nine expert commentator Torah Bright.

For more detailed information, explore updates concerning Winter Olympics 2026:.

For more news…