MILAN — The 2026 Winter Olympics continued Thursday with more curling mixed doubles round robin matches, men’s Alpine downhill training and luge training runs. But women’s ice hockey entered the chat as well, highlighted by Hilary Knight and the U.S. women’s hockey team opening their Olympic slate against Czechia. Ski jumping also got in the mix with training runs, too.
Wednesday’s events were highlighted by a tremendous run in curling for American mixed doubles as well as a clutch set of runs in big air snowboarding by Ollie Martin. While the opening ceremony is still set for Friday, and the first medals can be won Saturday, Americans are already making waves in Milano-Cortina. Here is the full Winter Olympics schedule.
Lightning’s injured Brayden Point replaced on Team Canada
Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point has been ruled out of the 2026 Winter Olympics because of a lower-body injury. He is being replaced on Team Canada by the Carolina Hurricanes’ Seth Jarvis.
Jarvis had played for Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off but wasn’t part of the initial roster for the Olympic team.
Point, injured on Jan. 12, is the second Lightning player to be unable to go to Milan. Anthony Cirelli was hurt in the Stadium Series game and was replaced on Team Canada by Florida Panthers playoff MVP Sam Bennett, who had played in the 4 Nations. – Mike Brehm, USA TODAY Network
Ollie Martin advances to big air final
LIVIGNO, Italy — Ollie Martin, the 17-year-old snowboarder making his Olympic debut, produced two clutch runs to reach to the men’s big air final on a night where his three American teammates weren’t able to advance with him.
Jake Canter, Red Gerard and Sean Fitzsimons of Team USA fell short of the top-12 finish needed to advance in the 30-man field. Each athlete had three runs, and the top two scores counted.
Martin finished with strong marks of 82.25 and 85.25 (total of 167.5) to jump past the cut line place after falling on his first attempt. By finishing ninth, he’ll be part of the 12 competitors in the Feb. 7 big air final.
Japan’s Hiroto Ogiwara finished first with a score of 178.5.
All four Americans from the big air qualifying will be back to compete in the slopestyle competition later in these Olympics. – Gentry Estes, USA TODAY NETWORK
Men’s snowboard big air: Clutch run by Ollie Martin
Ollie Martin, the 17-year-old making his Olympic debut in the snowboard big air qualification, just came up with a huge run with a spot in the finals hanging in the balance. After a poor landing led to a bad score on his initial run of the competition, Martin logged scores of 82.25 and 85.5 on his final two runs to move into the top 12 at the moment.
Jake Canter has fallen outside the top 12 after a lackluster final run. Red Girard didn’t land his final jump and won’t advance to the final.
Chloe Kim called Shaun White for injury advice?!
Chloe Kim is no stranger to success at the Winter Olympics. Unfortunately, she suffered a serious injury with less than a month for these games. Looking for some advice on the matter, she turned to the most decorated Olympic snowboarder, Shaun White.
Per USA TODAY’s Mark Gianotto, ‘White mentioned Kim emphasized to him in their conversation how the injury would impact her potential practice time in Italy ahead of the start to the snowboarding events at the Games.’
Kim was able to recover, and is expected to compete in the women’s halfpipe event which begins on Wednesday, February 11.
Men’s snowboard big air results: Jake Canter, Red Girard still in qualifying position
Jake Canter will be in eighth place and Red Girard sits in ninth place after the first two runs of the qualification round. The top 12 will make the final after this third run, but Canter started the batch of third runs with a poor landing. His spot moving forward is in doubt.
Men’s snowboard big air update for Jake Canter, Red Girard, Sean Fitzsimons
LIVIGNO, Italy — Team USA snowboarders Red Gerard, Ollie Martin and Sean Fitzsimons each improved scores on the second of three runs at big air qualifying in Livigno, putting themselves closer to the top 12 (out of 30) finish it’ll take to advance to the final.
Jake Canter is still in the best position of the four Americans in the field, scoring a 71.25 to add on to his impressive 89 that led off the competition.
Gerard followed his opening 70.75 with an 83.50, while Martin (82.25) needed to a clean second attempt after falling while trying to land his first. Fitzsimons scored a 75.25 in his second run after opening with a 60.75. – Gentry Estes, USA TODAY NETWORK
Men’s snowboard big air: Jake Canter, Red Gerard, Sean Fitzsimons in contention
Americans Jake Canter and Red Girard each currently rank among the top five after the second run in the men’s snowboard big air qualifying. Sean Fitzsimons is currently hanging on in ninth place after a better second run. The top 12 after a third run qualify for the finals. Japan’s Hiroto Ogiwara remains the leader following his second run.
Olympic curling results: Mixed doubles round robin session 4 scores
Canada 7, Italy 2
Switzerland 8, South Korea 5
Estonia 7, Sweden 5
Great Britain 8, Czechia 7
Men’s snowboard big air qualifying underway at 2026 Winter Olympics
LIVIGNO, Italy — Jake Canter started the men’s snowboard big air qualification with a bang.
The American put down a backside 1980 melon and the judges rewarded him with a 89.50. He finished the first of three qualifying rounds in third place.
His American teammates didn’t have as much luck. Ollie Martin, 17, could not land his 1800 backside Indy. Sean FitzSimons also struggled with his landing to put up a 60.75. And Red Gerard only put out a 1620 spin to receive a 70.75 (15th place).
The riders’ top two scores are combined and the top 12 of 30 advance to Saturday’s finals.
China’s Su Yiming, a gold-medal contender, couldn’t land a backside 1800 nose grab. Italy’s Ian Mateolli gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about with his 93.75 run to finish the first round in first. Japan’s Hirato Ogiwara was second with a 90.50. – Chris Bumbaca, USA TODAY Sports
Jannik Sinner is volunteering at 2026 Winter Olympics
What does a four-time tennis major winner do a week after reaching the semifinals of the 2026 Australian Open? Volunteer at the 2026 Winter Olympics, of course.
Former world No. 1 player Jannik Sinner was spotted as a volunteer for the Olympics in his home country of Italy. He is seen checking tickets for a train alongside Paralympic fencing champion Bebe Vio, who is also from Italy, in a social media video.
Women’s hockey: USA 5, Czechia 1, Final
Team USA’s Hilary Knight scored in the opening game of her fifth Winter Olympics.
But she had plenty of help as the Americans routed Czechia 5-1 on Thursday, Feb. 5.
Second-time Olympian Hayley Scamurra scored twice and first-time Olympians Joy Dunne (goal), Tessa Jannecke (two assists) and Laila Edwards (one assist) also chipped in. Third-time Olympian Alex Carpenter scored the USA’s opening goal.
Knight’s goal was the 13th of her Olympic career. She’s now one goal away from tying Natalie Darwitz and Katie King (14) for the all-time U.S. Olympic women’s hockey lead. Check out the highlights here.
The USA will next face Finland, whose opening game against Canada was postponed because of a norovirus outbreak on the team. – Mike Brehm, USA TODAY Sports
End of second period: USA 4, Czechia 1
Big period there by Tessa Jannecke, who had two assists in her Olympic debut to give the USA a 3-0 lead. The United States had a chance to build on that lead with a power play, but Czechia killed it off, and Barbara Jurickova scored after coming out of the penalty box.
But Hilary Knight restored the USA’s three-goal lead with a power move for her 13th career Olympic goal, one shy of tying the U.S. record. The Americans will start the third period short-handed.
Lindsey Vonn set to start training run with torn ACL
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy – Lindsey Vonn will start 10th in an all-important training run Friday.
Vonn plans to ski at the Milano Cortina Olympics despite a torn ACL, bone bruise, and meniscus damage in her left knee from a Jan. 30 crash. She said Tuesday that she’d gone skiing and her knee had held up fine, but acknowledged the official training runs would be the true test.
There will be another training run on Saturday before Sunday’s downhill race. The first training run, which was supposed to be Thursday, was canceled because of heavy snow in Cortina on Wednesday.
Vonn is one of six U.S. skiers who will participate in the training run. Breezy Johnson will start ninth, Jackie Wiles 20th, Keely Cashman 26th, Bella Wright 29th and Mary Bocock, the only Olympic rookie on the U.S. women’s ski team, will start 41st. – Nancy Armour, USA TODAY Sports
Vice President JD Vance in attendance
Vice President JD Vance and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio are on hand at the Rho Ice Hockey Arena in Milan to cheer on the U.S. women’s national hockey team against Czechia. Vance and Rubio entered the arena with their entourage, with about six minutes remaining in the first period.
Women’s hockey: USA 1, Czechia 0, End 1
The USA had the first five shots of the game and Czechia the next three.
The USA broke through on a power play when Alex Carpenter tipped in a Megan Keller shot at 15:55 for the lone goal of the period. Shots are 14-3 in favor of the USA.
Weather dispatch from Italy. Warm? Cold? Wet? Snowy? All of the above!
Alpine skier rooting for the Patriots in Super Bowl 60
Vermont’s Ryan Cochran-Siegle is considered Team USA’s best hope for a medal in men’s alpine skiing at the Milano Cortina Olympic Games.
He’s also a big fan of the New England Patriots.
Those facts will clash in the coming days. Cochran-Siegle is set to compete in the men’s team combined slalom on Feb. 9 in Bormio. That’ll be the day after the Patriots and Seattle Seahawks meet in a Super Bowl that’ll transpire in the middle of the night in Italy.
Competing in the Olympics on a lack of sleep isn’t advisable, meaning that Cochran-Siegle “unfortunately” said he isn’t planning to watch the game live.
‘I’ll probably just be sleeping in my Drake Maye jersey hoping that they are scoring lots of touchdowns,” Cochran-Siegle said.
On Feb. 4, Cochran-Siegle posted the top training time ahead of the Feb. 7 downhill event in Bormio, boosting hopes that he can build off the Super-G silver medal he won in 2022.
Nonetheless, much of a Feb. 5 media Zoom call with members of the U.S. men’s alpine team had to do with the Patriots. Cochran-Siegle’s teammate, Sam Morse, is from Maine, and he said that he will be able to stay up and watch.
“I definitely want to cheer on the Pats,” Morse said.
Cochran-Siegle, meanwhile, showed an impressive knowledge of football when asked to dig into his thoughts on the Patriots’ season. He shouted out first-year New England coach Mike Vrabel for “his ability to build that culture of really bringing the team in.”
Asked if he really brought a jersey of the team’s quarterback with him, Cochran-Siegle immediately held up a Maye jersey for the camera.
“They’ve had an awesome run,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure to be a Patriots fan this year.” – Gentry Estes, The Tennesseean
Olympic curling results: USA keeps rolling in mixed doubles
The United States mixed doubles curling team of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin continued their winning ways in the round-robin portion of the competition. The Americans beat Switzerland 7-4.
Earlier in the day, the team started play with an 8-6 win over Norway on Day 2 of the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Can athletes find love at the Olympics?
The 24-year-old from Lake Placid, New York, isn’t picky. She’s open to sip cappuccinos with fans. She’s down to swig Aperol spritzes with fellow athletes.
Kirkby is making her Olympic debut in a brand new event: Women’s doubles luge. Once she and partner Chevonne Forgan finish competing Feb. 11, Kirkby will open up her heart and her dating app profiles. She hopes the following two weeks will provide “crazy stories” to document via journaling and social media posting.
“My married women, my girl friends and my fellow single ladies, I will be there for them to live vicariously through me. Because I, too, am curious. How does an Olympian date?” − Payton Titus, Louisville Courier Journal
Graphics: How Olympic curling works
Curling has been an Olympic staple for more than a century − it was one of the original sports featured in 1924 when the first Winter Games were held in Chamonix, France.
This year’s competition will be hosted at Italy’s Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, a venue built in 1955 for the Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956 Olympic Winter Games.
The sport, sometimes referred to as ‘chess on ice,’ is characterized by the strategic delivery of granite stones across ice using a broom. The goal is for players to transport the stone to a target circle, referred to as ‘the house.’
Check out USA TODAY’s animated graphics describing the rules, scoring, equipment, strategy and more. − Veronica Bravo, Carlie Procell, Cydney Henderson
Vonn continues to amaze in workout video
Lindsey Vonn is able to do things with a busted knee that regular people can’t when fully healthy.
The 41-year-old posted a video of herself Thursday, Feb. 5 doing squats, side lunges, lifting weights, jumping and kicking her feet against a stability ball. The only sign of the torn ACL, bone bruise and meniscus damage in her left knee is the brace she’s wearing.
‘I’m not giving up,’ Vonn said in the Instagram post, ‘working as hard as I can to make it happen!’ − Nancy Armour
Virus outbreak postpones Canada-Finland hockey
Thursday’s preliminary women’s hockey matchup between Finland and defending Olympic champion Canada has been postponed following a norovirus outbreak among the Finnish team, the 2026 Milano Cortina organizing committee announced Thursday afternoon, hours ahead of the originally scheduled puck drop.
The match will now played Thursday, Feb. 12, at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The announcement came shortly after an afternoon practice session where only 10 players from Finland’s 23-woman roster were present. The remaining 13 players were either sick with norovirus or quarantined. − Cydney Henderson
US women’s hockey begins quest for gold
The U.S. women’s hockey team’s pursuit for its first Olympic gold medal since 2018 begins today with a preliminary matchup against Czechia.
The U.S. women won silver at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, but are clear favorites to claim gold after winning a World Championship title in April and sweeping Canada in the 2025 Rivalry Series in December to close out the year.
The Americans are the top seed in Group A, which also features reigning Olympic champion Canada.
Follow the action live, with the opening faceoff set for 10:40 a.m. ET. − Cydney Henderson
USOPC security chief: ‘No ICE agents’ at Olympics
After hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Milan to protest the announcement that ICE officers would be accompanying the American delegation to the Milano Cortina Winter Games, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said Thursday there aren’t any ICE agents in Italy with Team USA.
“I can tell you unequivocally, there are no ICE agents that are part of the team USA delegation on the ground here in Milan,” said Nicole Deal, Chief of Security and Athlete Services for the USOPC. “When it comes to securing major events, a lot of people don’t know what the capabilities and the resources that are needed, so there’s a lot of misinformation and assumptions that are made.’
Deal’s comments contradict what government officials previously said, that the U.S. immigration agency would assist in security operations for these Olympics, as it has done in the past. − Jordan Mendoza
Olympics schedule today
All times Eastern.
4:05 a.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
GBR vs. EST; SWE vs. CZE; NOR vs. USA; KOR vs. ITA
5:30 a.m.: Alpine Skiing – Men’s Downhill 2nd Official Training | Stelvio Ski Centre (Bormio, Valtellina)
6:10 a.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary | SWE vs. GER | Milan Rho Ice Hockey Arena (Milan)
8:30 a.m. & 9:27 a.m.: Luge – Men’s Singles Official Training (Runs 3-4) | Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
8:35 a.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
USA vs. SUI; NOR vs. CAN
8:40 a.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary (Italy vs. France) | Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena (Milan)
10:40 a.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary (USA vs. Czechia) | Milan Rho Ice Hockey Arena (Milan)
11 a.m.: Luge – Women’s Singles Official Training (Runs 1-2) | Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
11 a.m.: Ski Jumping – Women’s NH — Official Training 1 | Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium (Predazzo)
1:05 p.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
CAN vs. ITA; SUI vs. KOR; EST vs. SWE; CZE vs. GBR
1:30-3:45 p.m. : Snowboarding – Men’s Big Air Qualifying Runs 1, 2 and 3 | Livigno Snow Park (Livigno, Valtellina)
2 p.m.: Ski Jumping – Men’s NH Official Training 1 | Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium (Predazzo)
3:10 p.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary | FIN vs. CAN | Milan Rho Ice Hockey Arena (Milan)
2026 Winter Olympics TV schedule today
Peacock is streaming every event live today.
Steam Olympics on Peacock
Olympic curling results
The American mixed doubles team of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin rallied to defeat Norway, sending the 2022 silver medalists to 0-2 at this year’s Games. Cory and Korey get a brief break before facing Switzerland at 8:35 a.m. ET.
Elsewhere during round robin play, hosts Italy defeated South Korea (8-4), Sweden beat Czechia (7-4) and Great Britain handled Estonia (10-5).
Olympic Alpine skiing results
The U.S. men are saving their best runs for the downhill race.
No American was in the top 15 in Thursday’s training run. Kyle Negomir was the fastest, in 19th place, and his time of 1:55.1 was more than two seconds behind Italy’s Mattia Casse. Bryce Bennett and Ryan Cochran-Siegle were 27th and 28th, Sam Morse was 30th and River Radamus was 33rd.
Cochran-Siegle, a three-time Olympian who took silver in the super-G at the 2022 Olympics, posted the fastest time in the first training session on Wednesday. He finished third in downhill last weekend in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, and was second in the downhill at Beaver Creek, Colorado, in December. He’s traditionally done well in Bormio, his only World Cup win coming there in super-G in 2021.
The Americans weren’t the only ones taking it easy. Several of the top racers, including much of the mighty Swiss contingent, were clearly coasting as they approached the finish line.
Italians posted the top three fastest times of the day: Casse (1:52.85), Florian Schieder (1:53.30) and Giovanni Franzoni (1:53.72).
There is one more training run Friday before Saturday’s downhill race. — Nancy Armour
Alysa Liu gets US Figure Skating nod for women’s short program team event
U.S. Figure Skating has selected its lineup for the first day of the team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The biggest decision was the women’s short program, with Alysa Liu getting the selection in what felt like a toss-up between the reigning world champion and 2026 U.S. national champion Amber Glenn. Liu’s short program to Laufey’s ‘Promise’ is a strong performance, but it could have gone to Glenn with her ‘Like a Prayer’ by Madonna routine. Now, Glenn could be set up to be in the free skate portion of the team event, which is Sunday, Feb. 8. — Jordan Mendoza
Olympic Alpine skiing results
Americans Kyle Negomir (1:55.10), Bryce Bennett (1:55.75) and Ryan Cochran-Siegle (1:56.04) finished up their second training runs, and currently sit in 17th, 24th and 25st place, respectively.
Several of the top skiers appeared not to be going all out in this, the second of two training runs. Overall leader Marco Odermatt of Switzerland looked decidedly nonchalant, standing up as he approached the finish line rather than being in an aerodynamic tuck as he would in a race. France’s Alban Elezi Cannaferina even did a snowboard-style twist of his legs after he went over the final jump on the course.
Italy currently has the top three spots, and four of the top five.
Where are Winter Olympics 2026?
The Winter Olympics always sprawl because of the need for mountains. But the Milano Cortina Games are the most geographically spread out in Olympic and Paralympic history, with a footprint just slightly smaller than the entire state of New Jersey.
When is Olympics opening ceremony?
The opening ceremony is Friday, Feb. 6, starting at 2 p.m. ET and lasting around three hours. This year’s opening ceremony will be held at San Siro Stadium in Milan, a 100-year-old venue that will now play host to the likes of Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli and athletes from more than 90 countries around the world. Officials previously announced an inclusive theme featuring a show inside the stadium as well as ‘satellite events’ in Olympic territories.
