Curling opens competition at 2026
Winter Olympics as brief power outage pauses play, luge training
[February 05, 2026]
By JENNIFER McDERMOTT
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — 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.
The eight teams playing mixed doubles opened the long curling
tournament two full days before the opening ceremony for the 2026
Milan Cortina Games. American curler Korey Dropkin said he has been
waiting a long time for this moment.
“Being amongst the best, it’s a very cool atmosphere to be part of,”
said Dropkin, a first-time Olympian who will begin competition
Thursday. “We’re looking forward to being ready to compete and pour
our hearts out on the ice.”
Opening night in this mountain resort was just the first of the
round robin matches in mixed doubles curling, where teams with one
woman and one man face off against one another.
Cortina, which is 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Milan in these
far-flung Olympics, is seeing more fans and many were in the curling
center. They clapped, rang bells and chanted for their countries and
favorite curlers when their teams scored or there was a break in the
action. Some in the crowd held large flags for the Czech Republic,
whose team was competing against Canada. Canadian fans wearing red
waved handheld flags.
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Norway's Kristin Skaslien in action, during the mixed doubles round
robin phase of the curling competition against Britain, at the 2026
Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 4,
2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Bernard Benoit traveled from Ontario, Canada, to
root for his home team before going on to meet his daughter in
Milan. While he's a longtime curling fan, it's his first time at the
Olympics. He said he came a long way to see the best in the world
because he loves how curling is a “mix of athleticism and intellect”
and a strategy game.
Benoit is cheering for Canadian couple Jocelyn Peterman and Brett
Gallant, who are competing in mixed doubles. Three of the teams are
married couples and one is a sibling team. Marie Kaldvee and Harri
Lill are the first ever to compete for Estonia in curling.
Italian duo Stefania Constantini, who is from Cortina, and Amos
Mosaner are the defending world and Olympic champions in mixed
doubles.
Stephanie Kahn is a volunteer at the curling center, who is eager to
learn what curling is all about and how hard it is. Kahn is from the
United States and moved to Spain when she retired. She aspired to
compete in swimming in the Olympics when she was younger.
“That, for me, is what makes it so special. Being an athlete and
knowing that to be at the top, top of your sport, regardless of what
that sport is, it’s just such a commitment,” she said. “So I’m just
excited to be in the presence of these athletes.”
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AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf in Cortina and AP writer Julia Frankel
in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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