Redemption, Records, and Resilience: A Day of High Drama on Day 10 of the Milano Cortina Games
Redemption, Records, and Resilience: A Day of High Drama on Day 10 of the Milano Cortina Games
The 2026 Winter Games reached a fever pitch as a series of historic performances and weather-induced chaos redefined the narrative across Italy’s most iconic winter venues. From the treacherous slopes of the Stelvio to the frozen sheets of the Milano Ice Skating Arena, the day was defined by veteran icons cementing their legacies and rising stars seizing the moment under immense pressure. While some athletes celebrated long-awaited breakthroughs and record-breaking feats, others faced the brutal reality of the four-year wait, with podium dreams evaporating in the final seconds of competition. As blizzards delayed the action in the mountains and the tension reached a breaking point in the city's arenas, the events of February 16 ensured that these Games would be remembered as much for their emotional depth as for their technical brilliance.
Short-track speed skating
The women's 1000m short track final at the Milano Ice Skating Arena saw Xandra Velzeboer secure her second individual gold of the Games with a clinical 1:28.437 finish. After staying patient in the pack, the Dutch star surged into the lead with three laps to go, leaving Canada's Courtney Sarault to take silver, her third medal of these Games. Sarault had led for much of the nine-lap final but could not hold off Velzeboer's late speed. The podium was completed by South Korea’s 21-year-old Kim Gilli, who secured her first Olympic medal with bronze after a bold mid-race move. The biggest disappointment of the day fell to local hero Arianna Fontana; the Italian legend was jostling for position in the final laps when contact with China's Gong Li forced her wide, dropping her to fourth and leaving her stuck on 13 career medals. With favourites like Kristen Santos-Griswold and Choi Minjeong failing to reach the A-final, Velzeboer’s win cements a dominant week for the Netherlands on the short track.
Alpine Skiing
The men's slalom at the Stelvio Ski Centre provided a dramatic finale to the alpine program as Switzerland's Loïc Meillard secured gold with a combined time of 1:53.61. Meillard, who moved up from second after the first run, completed his Olympic medal set by capitalising on a major collapse from Atle Lie McGrath. The Norwegian leader had a commanding 0.59-second lead but straddled a gate early in his second run and was disqualified, visibly venting his frustration as he walked off the course. The silver medal went to Austria's Fabio Gstrein, who finished 0.35 seconds back, while Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen fought from sixth after run one to claim bronze. The race was a battle of attrition, with a blizzard in the morning causing over 50 DNFs, including defending champion Clément Noël and giant slalom winner Lucas Pinheiro Braathen. There was also an emotional farewell for Great Britain's Dave Ryding. Competing in his fifth and final Olympics at age 39, The Rocket finished 17th, one place behind teammate Billy Major. While he fell short of the elusive Olympic medal, Ryding retires as Britain's greatest alpine skier and the first to win a World Cup gold, ending a career that famously began on a dry slope in Lancashire.
Figure skating
The Pairs Figure Skating competition concluded with a victory for Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, who surged from fifth place after the short program to claim gold with a combined total of 231.24. The silver medal was awarded to Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, who finished with 221.75 to secure their nation's first-ever Winter Olympic medal, while Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin took the bronze with a score of 219.09 after leading the first segment of the event. The competition proved a battle of resilience that saw several top-seeded teams struggle with technical elements, including a fourth-place finish for Hungary’s Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko and a fifth-place result for the returning Olympic champions Sui Wenjing and Han Cong.
Freestyle skiing
Canada’s Megan Oldham secured the gold medal in the women’s freeski big air final with a combined score of 180.75, fending off a late-competition charge from defending champion Eileen Gu, who took silver with 179.00. The bronze was claimed by Italian teenager Flora Tabanelli, who delighted the home crowd by scoring 178.25 despite competing on a torn ACL suffered in November. The night was a bitter pill for Great Britain’s Kirsty Muir, who suffered her second agonising fourth-place finish of the Games after being bumped from the podium in the final round. Muir had looked destined for a medal after landing a stunning 1620 in her second run, but she was eventually overtaken by the clinical consistency of the top three and finished just 3.5 points off the podium. The competition was a war of nerves at the Livigno Snow Park, starting after a 75-minute blizzard delay and lacking world champion Mathilde Gremaud, who was forced to withdraw following a heavy crash in morning training. For Oldham, the victory provided a fairytale redemption for her fourth-place finish in Beijing, while Muir was left to process the dual heartbreak of finishing one spot away from a medal in both big air and slopestyle within the same week.
Ski Jumping
The inaugural men’s ski jumping super team event at the Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium delivered a chaotic and weather-beaten conclusion to the jumping program as Austria’s Jan Hörl and Stephan Embacher soared to gold with a total of 568.7 points. The Austrian duo, who dominated from the opening flight, provided much-needed redemption for their nation's jumping squad after a barren ten days in Italy. Their victory was solidified not by a final leap, but by a sudden snow squall and shifting winds that forced officials to abandon the third round entirely, declaring the standings after the second jump as final. Poland’s Paweł Wąsek and Kacper Tomasiak claimed the silver medal, marking a remarkable third podium finish of these Games for the rookie sensation Tomasiak. The bronze went to Norway’s Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal and Johann André Forfang, who narrowly edged out Germany by a mere 0.3 points to secure their place on the podium. The competition was a true battle against the elements, as the heavy, wet snowfall slowed in-run speeds and caused a tactical nightmare for the final eight teams. Among the casualties of the deteriorating conditions were the pre-race favorites from Slovenia, Anže Lanišek and Domen Prevc, who plummeted to fifth after a series of technical struggles in the second round. There was also a notable performance from the American pair Kevin Bickner and Tate Frantz, who finished 8th—the best result for a U.S. jumping team in over forty years. For Hörl, the win adds another gold to his collection from Beijing, while the 20-year-old Embacher marks his Olympic debut as a champion, cementing Austria’s status as the powerhouse of the large hill.
Bobsleigh
The women's monobob at the Cortina Sliding Centre delivered a gripping finale as American legend Elana Meyers Taylor clinched her first Olympic gold in a dramatic come-from-behind victory. Trailing for the first three heats, the 41-year-old pilot produced a blistering final run of 59.51 seconds to finish with a combined time of 3:57.93, edging out Germany’s Laura Nolte by just 0.04 seconds. Nolte, who had led the field since the opening heat and set an early track record, was left devastated after a series of minor wall clips in the lower section of the track cost her the top spot. The bronze medal was secured by the defending champion and three-time gold medalist Kaillie Humphries, who finished 0.12 seconds back to complete a historic podium featuring two American mothers in their 40s. The competition was a true test of mental fortitude, with top-seeded world champion Kaysha Love falling to seventh after struggling with consistency, while local favourites Simona De Silvestro and Giada Andreutti finished well outside the top twenty. For Meyers Taylor, the victory marks her sixth Olympic medal, cementing her legacy as the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Games history and providing a fairytale ending to a career that has spanned five Olympics.
Curling
Women's round robin session 8:
Sweden 6-4 Switzerland: Sweden maintained their perfect 6-0 record by outlasting the world champion Swiss in a tight defensive battle. Skip Anna Hasselborg controlled the house throughout, using a critical single-point steal in the eighth end to build a 5-3 lead. Despite a late push from Switzerland's Alina Pätz, Hasselborg secured the victory with a final stone takeout in the tenth, solidifying Sweden's spot at the top of the standings.
China 5-10 Canada: Rachel Homan and Team Canada snapped a three-game losing streak with a dominant offensive display against China. After a slow start that saw them trail 2-0, the Canadians exploded for four points in the fourth end and another three in the sixth to take total control. Homan’s clinical takeout shooting and a 96% accuracy rate from lead Sarah Wilkes ensured a comfortable finish, moving Canada back into the playoff conversation.
Denmark 2-7 Great Britain: Sophie Jackson’s British rink kept their medal hopes alive by dismantling Denmark in a game that ended early after nine ends. Great Britain set the tone with two points in the opening end and stifled the Danish offence with aggressive guarding, limiting Madeleine Dupont’s side to just two single-point scores. The win provides a vital boost for the defending champions as they fight to climb out of the middle of the pack.
Men's Round Robin Session 8
Great Britain 6–7 Norway: Magnus Ramsfjell’s Norwegian rink stole a decisive two points in the eighth end following a rare error from British skip Bruce Mouat, who failed to clear a stone with his final hammer. Although Great Britain fought back with two points in the ninth, Ramsfjell utilised the hammer in the tenth to secure a single point and a vital win. The result moves Norway into a tie for third, while the British world champions drop to fifth and face a must-win scenario in their final ties.
Czechia 2–8 Canada: Brad Jacobs and Team Canada cruised to an efficient eight-end victory, dominating the winless Czechs from the opening stone. After building a steady lead through the early ends, Jacobs secured a triple in the seventh to put the game out of reach and prompt an early handshake. The win improves Canada’s record to 5–1, keeping them in sole possession of second place behind the unbeaten Swiss.
Sweden 3–7 Germany: Germany delivered a massive blow to Sweden's title defence, effectively ending Niklas Edin’s hopes for a repeat gold with a clinical four-point margin. The Germans took control with a steal of two in the sixth end and never allowed the Swedish veterans to generate a multiple-score response. The defeat marks Sweden’s fifth loss of the round robin, leaving the Beijing 2022 champions needing a mathematical miracle to reach the semifinals.
Italy 4–11 China: China stunned the home crowd at the Cortina Olympic Centre with a high-scoring rout that derailed Italy’s playoff momentum. A catastrophic fifth end for Joël Retornaz’s side saw China steal four points, ballooning their lead and forcing the Italians into risky shots that never materialised. Despite the boisterous home support, Italy conceded after eight ends, dropping them into a tie for sixth in the standings.
Women's Round Robin Session 8:
Canada 9–6 Japan: Rachel Homan completed a perfect two-win day by holding off a late charge from Japan’s Sayaka Yoshimura. Canada appeared to have the game in hand until Japan scored a deuce in the ninth, but Homan remained precise with her final draw to the button in the tenth to secure the points. The victory levels Canada’s record at 3–3 and keeps their slim playoff hopes alive heading into a crucial clash with Sweden.
Italy 7–2 USA: Stefania Constantini gave the Italian fans their first reason to celebrate in the women’s event with a dominant upset over the United States. Italy opened the scoring with a steal in the third and never trailed, capitalising on several missed draws by American skip Tabitha Peterson. The 7–2 result is a significant setback for the Americans, who drop into a logjam for second place with a 4–2 record.
South Korea 10–9 China: In the most volatile match of the session, Korea’s Gim Eun-ji survived a furious Chinese comeback to win by a single point. Korea held a commanding 7–2 lead at the break, but China’s Wang Rui rallied with a three-point ninth end to take a shock 9–8 lead into the finale. Gim kept her nerve in the tenth, executing a difficult double takeout to score two and secure the win.
Switzerland 10–6 Great Britain: Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni bounced back from a morning loss to dismantle Great Britain’s defence in the evening draw. The game was tied at 4–4 until the seventh end when Swiss fourth player Alina Pätz executed a perfect raise takeout for three points. A final steal in the ninth forced a British concession, leaving the defending champions on the brink of elimination with only two wins.
Ice Hockey
USA 5-0 Sweden: The United States punched their ticket to an eighth consecutive gold-medal game with a ruthless 5-0 demolition of Sweden, extending their incredible Olympic shutout streak to over 330 minutes.
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