Curling Opens Competition At 2026 Winter Olympics As Brief Power Outage Pauses Play, Luge Training | EUROtoday

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — The 2026 Winter Olympics opened competitors Wednesday night time with the primary curling matches on the schedule in Cortina just for the motion to come back to a short halt due to an influence outage.

Officials paused the matches on the historic curling stadium when the lights dimmed and flickered and the primary lights and warmth in a close-by media heart went out. Curlers stored sliding on the ice to remain prepared and followers cheered when the brilliant lights got here again quickly after and play resumed.

Olympic organizers acknowledged the “brief interruption to competition due to an energy-related issue” and famous it lasted roughly three minutes. It snowed steadily all day in Cortina, with greater than 8 inches (20.32 centimeters) in some locations. The begin of the opening luge coaching session for males’s singles was additionally delayed a half-hour because of the outage.

The eight groups taking part in combined doubles opened the lengthy curling event two full days earlier than the opening ceremony for the 2026 Milan Cortina Games. American roller Korey Dropkin mentioned he has been ready a very long time for this second.

“Being amongst the best, it’s a very cool atmosphere to be part of,” mentioned Dropkin, a first-time Olympian who will start competitors Thursday. “We’re looking forward to being ready to compete and pour our hearts out on the ice.”

Opening night time on this mountain resort was simply the primary of the spherical robin matches in combined doubles curling, the place groups with one girl and one man face off towards each other.

Cortina, which is 400 kilometers (250 miles) from Milan in these far-flung Olympics, is seeing extra followers and lots of have been within the curling heart. They clapped, rang bells and chanted for his or her international locations and favourite curlers when their groups scored or there was a break within the motion. Some within the crowd held giant flags for the Czech Republic, whose workforce was competing towards Canada. Canadian followers carrying purple waved handheld flags.

Bernard Benoit traveled from Ontario, Canada, to root for his residence workforce earlier than happening to satisfy his daughter in Milan. While he’s a longtime curling fan, it’s his first time on the Olympics. He mentioned he got here an extended solution to see the perfect on the planet as a result of he loves how curling is a “mix of athleticism and intellect” and a method sport.

Benoit is cheering for Canadian couple Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, who’re competing in combined doubles. Three of the groups are married {couples} and one is a sibling workforce. Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill are the primary ever to compete for Estonia in curling.

Italian duo Stefania Constantini, who’s from Cortina, and Amos Mosaner are the defending world and Olympic champions in combined doubles.

Stephanie Kahn is a volunteer on the curling heart, who is keen to be taught what curling is all about and the way onerous it’s. Kahn is from the United States and moved to Spain when she retired. She aspired to compete in swimming within the Olympics when she was youthful.

“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 mentioned. “So I’m just excited to be in the presence of these athletes.”

AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf in Cortina and AP author Julia Frankel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics