US women lose to Canada in curling bronze match

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (Reuters) — Canada beat the United States 10-7 to claim the women’s curling bronze medal at the Winter Olympics on Saturday, as skip Rachel Homan ended her long wait for a medal.

Homan punched the air and embraced teammate Tracy Fleury after her counterpart Tabitha Peterson conceded with one throw remaining.

For Canada, the bronze was their first medal in the women’s event since the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, when Jennifer Jones’ team won gold.

While the color might not be what Homan hoped for, seeing as her team was a strong favorite for gold heading into the Games, it was still a testament to their performances in the last Olympic cycle.

They won the last two world championships, beating their closest rivals and four-time world champions Switzerland in both finals, and won three consecutive Grand Slam titles last year.

However, Homan’s record at the Olympics had been poor.

She participated in the past two Games, finishing sixth as skip of the women’s team in 2018 and once again ending up outside the qualification spots for the semi-finals in the mixed doubles in 2022.

“I’m just unbelievably proud of our week and our fight. We never gave up right to the end. Pulling for each other. When things were hard, we just pulled closer together and tried to figure out how to make the next one,” Homan said.

Saturday’s clash was a much closer affair than the men’s, in which Switzerland blew Norway away, with both teams limiting each other’s scoring opportunities to leave the game tied at 2-2 after four ends.

The tide appeared to turn in Canada’s favor in the sixth end when U.S. skip Peterson made inadequate contact with a Canadian stone and left Homan with a simple takeout shot for three points and a 5-3 lead.

Peterson did not let the setback affect her and produced an incredible draw for two in the next end to level at 5-5, a shot that drew applause from both sets of supporters at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.

Still, Canada had smelled blood and pushed hard, capitalizing on a failed triple-takeout to earn another three points with a straightforward draw.

While Peterson was able to make an improbable two-pointer in the penultimate end, Canada had a one-point lead as well as the hammer and closed out the win.

The U.S. was hoping to become the first American women’s team to win a curling medal at the Winter Games.

The Americans had claimed their first Olympic victory over Canada in the round-robin stage last week, beating their neighbors 9-8.

“For me, this was my third Games, and this was my best finish as well. So you can’t underemphasize that. It’s still a really good showing for us, and we’re really proud of our performance,” Peterson said.

Anna Hasselborg’s Sweden and Silvana Tirinzoni’s Switzerland face off for women’s gold on Sunday in the finale of the curling competition at the Milano Cortina Games.

US successfully defends mixed team aerials gold medal

LIVIGNO, Italy (Reuters) — The United States won gold in the Olympics freestyle skiing mixed team final on Saturday, retaining their 2022 title, while Switzerland captured the silver and favorites China were left with the bronze.

The Americans stormed to victory after failing to reach the podium in this week’s women’s and men’s finals, where China took the golds through husband-and-wife combo Wang Xindi and Xu Mengtao.

The winning U.S. team included Kaila Kuhn, gold medalist at the 2025 world championships in women’s and mixed team aerials, who finished fifth in Wednesday’s women’s final at the Milan Cortina Games.

Her teammates were Christopher Lillis and Connor Curran, who were eighth and 12th, respectively, in the men’s final on Friday.

“All of us came in so motivated after that individual event because it didn’t really go any of our ways. And so we came in today motivated, strong as ever,” Kuhn said.

The winning trio spoke to reporters with American flags draped around their shoulders, and gold medals hanging from their necks.

“It’s hard to put into words how much it means to represent the USA and get a gold medal with your friends and family. And yeah, it means the world, and I’m honored,” Curran said.

In mixed teams, male and female athletes compete together, with each country fielding three contestants. Their individual scores are added up for an overall total.

The Americans scored 325.35 out of a possible total of 450.

The Swiss team, including men’s silver medalist Noe Roth, earned 296.91 points, while China posted 279.68.

Canada opens bars early for men’s gold-medal showdown

TORONTO (Reuters) — It will be beers before breakfast in Canada on Sunday when some bars will open their taps hours earlier than usual as the nation rallies behind its men’s ice hockey team in the gold medal showdown against the United States at the Winter Olympics.

In Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, Premier Doug Ford has allowed eligible licensed establishments to begin selling alcohol at 6 a.m. ET (1100 GMT), just over two hours before the puck drops at Milan’s Santagiulia arena for the hotly anticipated match between two teams packed with National Hockey League players.

“The entire country will be watching on Sunday morning as our men’s hockey team plays for Olympic gold,” Ford wrote on X while announcing the decision for early-morning alcohol sales. “Let’s all come together, support local businesses and cheer on Team Canada!”

In the western province of British Columbia, Premier David Eby has also given the green light for bars there to open their taps to bleary-eyed hockey fans ahead of traditional breakfast hours.

This game marks the first time since the 2010 Vancouver Games that the neighboring nations will compete in the men’s Olympic ice hockey final.

Canada won the 2010 final on Sidney Crosby’s overtime goal and successfully defended at the 2014 Sochi Games, which was the last Olympics to feature NHL players.

For Canada, Sunday’s final represents a chance to underline their legacy and bring home a 10th men’s ice hockey gold to a country where the sport’s place in Canadian culture is closer to religion than a simple sporting pastime.