The 2026 Winter Olympics commenced this evening in Cortina d’Ampezzo with mixed doubles curling, though proceedings came to an abrupt halt mere minutes after the first stones were thrown.
Approximately five minutes into competition at the historic curling stadium, the arena experienced a power failure that caused lighting to dim and flicker throughout the venue.
Match officials swiftly suspended play whilst athletes continued sliding on the ice to maintain their readiness.
Spectators erupted in cheers when full power returned afterwards, allowing the round-robin matches to continue.
A power cut forced the curling to be temporarily halted just minutes into the start of the Winter Olympics
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The incident marked an inauspicious beginning to the Italian Games, which officially open with Friday’s ceremony.
Eight nations are vying for medals in the mixed doubles event, which precedes the main curling tournament.
Wednesday’s opening fixtures saw Great Britain take on Norway, whilst Canada faced the Czech Republic in another early encounter.
Sweden competed against South Korea, and Estonia met Switzerland to complete the first session’s schedule.
The Estonian pairing of Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill are making history as their country’s inaugural Olympic curlers.
Three of the competing duos are married couples, with one team comprising siblings.
The Winter Olympics has not even officially started, with the opening ceremony coming on Friday
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American curler Korey Dropkin, who begins his Olympic debut on Thursday, described the atmosphere as “very cool” and spoke of his eagerness to “pour our hearts out on the ice.”
The venue’s ice technicians faced considerable difficulties in the lead-up to competition, with preparations hampered by ongoing construction work around the 70-year-old stadium.
Hans Wuthrich, a veteran icemaker serving as consultant at the Games, revealed that seven doors were left open throughout one night, causing internal temperatures to plummet to six degrees rather than the required fifteen.
“We were worried the ice was going to crack,” Wuthrich said, noting that a crack had indeed appeared in the surface a fortnight ago.
The constant opening of doors for workers, broadcast crews and volunteers made maintaining proper humidity levels extremely challenging.
A separate power failure several nights prior had already tested the crew’s nerves before Wednesday’s public incident.
Canadian duo Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, one of the married couples in the field, expressed satisfaction with conditions after training, with Peterman calling the venue “beautiful” and praising the ice quality.
The Winter Olympics is taking place in Milan, Italy this year
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The Italian hosts will be strongly fancied when they take to the ice on Thursday morning, with Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner returning as reigning Olympic and world champions in the discipline.
Constantini hails from Cortina itself, adding local significance to their title defence.
American volunteer Stephanie Kahn, a former aspiring swimmer, spoke of her excitement at witnessing elite athletes compete, describing their commitment as “what makes it so special.”
The curling programme runs until 22 February.
