Winter Olympics 2026 live updates: Chock and Bates figure skate; Team USA wins curling semifinals

France's Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron remain in first place with only five more duos set to perform.

They lead Team USA's Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik by 6.65 points. Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik were ecstatic after scoring their season best today. They sit in the second spot after scoring 83.53 with a routine set to "Poison" and "Something In Your Eyes."

Lithuania's Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius are currently in third.

Four-time Olympians Evan Bates and Madison Chock are slated to be the final team to take the ice, just a day after winning gold alongside their Team USA peers in the team competition.

Joy Dunne just scored in women's hockey preliminary match, bringing the score to 2-0 in the second period. Dunne put pressure on the Swiss team before driving the puck into the goal.

The U.S. team celebrates their second goal against Switzerland. Marie-Laure Messana / AFP - Getty Images

How Tessa Janecke went from the small town of Orangeville, Illinois, to the U.S. women’s hockey team.

With more than half of the teams done with their routines, three teams at the bottom of the leaderboard are at risk in the ice dance competition.

China's Xinyu Liu and Shiyue Wang, Korea's Ye Quan and Hannah Lim, and Germany's Benjamin Steffan and Jennifer Janse van Rensburg have scored the lowest out of the 13 teams that have competed so far. Only the top 20 out of 23 teams will move on to the free dance event on Wednesday.

Quan and Lim had an exuberant routine that gave homage to the "Men in Black" film, both in costume and music choice. But Quan faltered on a rotation that cost the duo big, and he clearly knew it.

South Korea's Ye Quan falters during competition today. Gabriel Bouys / AFP - Getty Images

Though Quan recovered to power through the rest of the performance, he was visibly deflated as they returned to their coaches at the end of the routine.

The first period of the women's hockey preliminary round between Team USA and Switzerland is over.

Team USA is up 1-0, following Haley Winn's first career Olympic goal. Rory Guilday spent two minutes in the penalty box due to a tripping penalty.

Haley Winn, left, celebrates after scoring past Switzerland's gaolie Andrea Brandli. Petr David Josek / AP

Team USA's Haley Winn scored her first career Olympic goal against Switzerland to open today's game. Winn scored the team's first goal 6:04 into the first period.

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron scored big for France during the rhythm dance event, taking the lead and immediately advancing in the ice dance competition.

The team's routine to Madonna's "Vogue" earned them a score of 90.18, almost 20 points higher than the prior leaders from Great Britain. Canada's Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain le Gac performed just after the French duo, moving into second place with a score of 74.35.

The Canadian team hugged coach Scott Moir after exiting the ice, the legendary Olympian who holds three gold and two silver medals in ice dance for Canada.

France's Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron. Gabriel Bouys / AFP - Getty Images

Though there are still more than a dozen teams left to compete, Britain and Australia have secured their spots in the free dance competition.

Britain's Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez were the first to qualify for the next phase after performing their rhythm dance routine to a George Michael medley. They are currently at the top of the leaderboard with a score of 72.46.

Australia's Holly Harris and Jason Chan are just behind them with a score of 67.75 after a rousing dance that earned them a traditional "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" chant from their compatriots.

The top 20 of the 23 teams competing today will advance to the free dance competition.

Four years after she earned a bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics in the 1,000-meter speedskate, American Brittany Bowe finished fourth today, knocked out of medal position when the final two skaters of the competition skated the day's fastest and third-fastest times.

But Bowe, 37, said she was "really trying to savor" seeing her family in the stands, considering fans were absent due to Covid regulations in 2022.

"A little bit disappointed with just missing out on the podium, placing in what some may say is the toughest spot," Bowe said. "Seeing my family and friends in the stands, what a huge contrast from Beijing four years ago."

Did she believe her time would stand up as medal-caliber?

"I knew it would be a long shot after seeing (Jutta Leerdam and Miho Takagi)'s first two splits, but you can never give up hope and anything can happen," she said. "But just sitting there watching that time just tick so, so slow. But it is what it is. I'm happy with my performance."

Brittany Bowe competes in the 1,000-meter event today. Joosep Martinson / Getty Images

Lindsey Vonn’s father said today that the American superstar will no longer race if he has any influence over her decision and that she will not return to the Winter Olympics after breaking her leg in the downhill over the weekend.

“She’s 41 years old and this is the end of her career,” Alan Kildow said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it.”

Kildow declined to comment on details of Vonn’s injuries, but he did address how she was doing emotionally.

“She’s a very strong individual,” Kildow said. “She knows physical pain and she understands the circumstances that she finds herself in. And she’s able to handle it. Better than I expected. She’s a very, very strong person. And so I think she’s handling it real well.”

Kildow — a former ski racer himself who taught his daughter to race — said he slept in his daughter’s hospital room overnight.

“She has somebody with her — or multiple people with her — at all times,” Kildow said. “We’ll have people here as long as she’s here.”

Tennis great Jannik Sinner posted an Instagram story sending his wishes to Lindsey Vonn earlier today.

"Thinking of you," plus a sad face and folded hands, was the simple caption of a photo of the two smiling together. It wasn't immediately clear when the photo was taken.

Vonn and Sinner have been friends for quite some time, and she often comments under his Instagram posts, congratulating him after his victories — like she did after the ATP Finals — but also encouraging him after losses. Vonn was also spotted in Sinner’s corner with his coaches at the U.S. Open.

Racing in the last of the competition's 15 pairs to get on the ice, Jutta Leerdam claimed a gold medal and broke the Olympic record in the 1,000-meter speedskating final in dramatic fashion today for the Netherlands.

Her record surpassed a mark that had been set only a few minutes earlier by her Dutch teammate. The win left Leerdam crying, her eyeliner running down her cheeks, but she wasn't the only one in her family to become emotional. When she spoke after the win with her fiancé, the boxer and social media influencer Jake Paul, he "can't stop crying, it's really cute," Leerdam said.

"He knows how much stress I've had, how much pressure I've had, also how emotional I've been around this, but that's my way of coping with the press and I just did it," she said. "So they know how hard this was for me. This was not an easy way of doing it."

Jake Paul celebrates Leerdam's victory in the stands with her parents. DeFodi Images / DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Less than a day after appearing at the Super Bowl halftime show, Ricky Martin is getting some love at the Winter Olympics.

Two of the four teams who have taken the ice so far have used a medley of Martin's music for their rhythm ice dance event. Spain's Sofia Val and Asaf Kazimov opened the event with a mashup of "Maria" and "La Copa de la Vida" by the Puerto Rican singer.

Sweden's Milla Ruud Reitan and Nikolaj Majorov later went on to the iconic "Living La Vida Loca" and chose "La Copa de la Vida" for their second song. They appeared to be delighted with their performance, sharing a sweet kiss after their routine ended.

Team USA's Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin will play for gold tomorrow against Sweden.

The curling duo won on the final shot of today's match. Team USA has secured a silver medal at least after a hard-won victory today over Italy, the reigning Olympic gold medalists from the 2022 Beijing Games.

Cory Thiesse, right, and Korey Dropkin celebrate at the end of their match. Odd Andersen / AFP - Getty Images

Team Sweden will fight for their chance at a gold medal after defeating Great Britain 9-3 in today's mixed doubles curling semifinal.

The match was neck and neck until the sixth end, when Sweden scored 5 points. Great Britain conceded after the seventh end. Sweden will face the winner of today's match between Team USA and Italy in tomorrow's gold medal match.

Sweden's Isabella Wranaa and Rasmus Wrana celebrate at the end their match today. Odd Andersen / AFP - Getty Images

The Italian mixed doubles curling duo overtook Team USA in the seventh end, scoring 3 points and bringing the score to 8-7. The American pair's chance at the gold depends on the final frame.

Erin Jackson is best known as a 500-meter speedskating gold medalist, but today she called the 1,000-meter her “favorite distance,” saying she was very happy with her performance.

“It’s been my goal to be able to race this one at the Olympics,” Jackson said. “To come out with a top-10, sixth place, I'm really excited.”

Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin finished the sixth end with a pair for Team USA, regaining their lead, 7-5.

Team Italy had tied up today's curling semifinal at 5 in the fifth end, stepping up to the challenge after a tough first half of the match.

Ice dance begins its first competition outside of the team event with rhythm dance now.

Team USA's reigning world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates are expected to be the couple to beat as 23 teams take the ice. The top 20 teams will advance to the free dance event.

The German and French women's hockey teams were tied 1-1 at the end of regular time today, forcing a sudden-death overtime.

Overtime hockey is played differently as both teams put up three players for a five-minute period. If it goes scoreless in that time, the teams are pushed to a shootout.

But Germany avoided that fate by scoring in overtime, securing its second win for the preliminary round. France has yet to win any of its three games so far.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates’ chemistry on and off the ice has been electric as their success in competitions continues. But in the 2026 Winter Olympics, they have their sights set on a new goal.

Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin closed out the fourth end with a 5-4 lead, driving three stones to the button. The duo led their final stone of the end straight into the pocket to give them a lead over the Italian gold medalists.

Team Italy's last shot bounced off another stone as it moved across the ice, making way for the American team.

Americans Brittany Bowe and Erin Jackson just missed the podium today in the women's 1,000 meters.

The winner was Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands with a time of 1:12:31. She broke the Olympic record that had been set minutes earlier by her teammate Femke Kok, who gets the silver. Miho Takagi of Japan took the bronze. Bowe finished in fourth and Jackson in sixth.

Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands reacts after winning gold today. Joosep Martinson / Getty Images

Leerdam is engaged to influencer and boxer Jake Paul, who was shown on the broadcast hugging family. Leerdam was so overwhelmed she began crying on camera, making her eye makeup drip down her face.

Dutch speedskater Femke Kok just set an Olympic record in the 1,000 meters in 1:12.59, which moves her well into first place with only four skaters remaining. Brittany Bowe, the American who earned a bronze medal in the 1,000 meters four years ago, moved into second overall by finishing in 1:14.55.

So for now, there are two Americans in medal position, with Erin Jackson sliding back to third.

It's 2-2 after the second end in today's mixed doubles curling semifinals. In the crowd, Korey Dropkin's fiancée watches from the edge of her seat, and at home in Duluth, Minnesota, Cory Thiesse's family and fans livestream the event and cheer her on with cutouts of her face.

Erin Jackson, the American speedskater who became famous overnight in 2022 when she became the sport's first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal — in the 500 meters — just raced around the oval in the 1,000-meter final. Tonight, she posted the leading time of 1:15.00. It elevated her above Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands, who was in first in 1:15.46.

Eight skaters remain — including Jackson's close friend, American Brittany Bowe.

Erin Jackson competes today. Joosep Martinson / Getty Images

Team USA curling's Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin have taken to the ice in today's mixed doubles semifinal. They're up against the same Italian duo who took home the gold during the 2022 Beijing Games.

Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse of the U.S. compete today. Carmen Mandato / Getty Images

With the first session wrapped and the second moments away from starting, Suzanne Schulting from the Netherlands is in first place, followed by Nikola Zdrahalova of Czechia and Natalia Czerwonka from Poland.

Still to race are Brittany Bowe and Erin Jackson from the U.S.

Handle with care. That’s the message from gold medalist Breezy Johnson at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics after she and other athletes found their medals broken within hours.

Olympic organizers are investigating with “maximum attention” after a spate of medals have fallen off their ribbons during celebrations on the opening weekend of the Games.

“Don’t jump in them. I was jumping in excitement, and it broke,” women’s downhill ski gold medalist Johnson said after her win yesterday. “I’m sure somebody will fix it. It’s not crazy broken, but a little broken.”

Read the full story here.

Erin Jackson made history at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, elevating the sport of speedskating. Now at the 2026 Winter Olympics, she’s looking for even more success on the ice.

Figure skater Amber Glenn had a tough day yesterday after fighting through her free skate in the team competition, though Team USA still took home the gold.

Glenn told reporters after the skate that she was physically hurting and didn't know if she "could have felt worse out there." A TikTok account made a video noting that teammate Evan Bates comforted her after her score came in and was the first to hug her when they all won gold.

"So grateful for the endless kindness," Glenn wrote in the comment section of the post.

Madeline Schizas shared the highs and lows of being a student-athlete on social media this weekend, from asking your professor for an extension while you compete in the Olympics to having him cheer you on from home.

Days after sharing a post on social media revealing that she had to ask her professor for an extension on an assignment, Schizas competed in the women's free skating team event for Canada. The figure skater, who is also a student at McMaster University in Ontario, skated onto the ice with the support of Canadians back at home — including her professor Victor Satzewich.

Schizas' sociology professor posted a photo of his watching his student twirl on the Olympic stage, captioning the post, “So proud of you Maddie!” She reposted the photo to her Instagram story, saying, “Thanks for the support prof 😭.”

Schizas posted the email where she asked for an extension on social media this weekend, and while she blacked out her professor's name, she shared the name of the course and her solid excuse — “I was competing in the Olympic Games yesterday.” McMaster University confirmed to NBC News that Satzewich teaches this course.

“I am a student in your Sociology 2FF3 course and am wondering if I could get a short extension on this week’s reflection,” Schizas wrote in an email to her professor. “I was competing in the Olympic Games yesterday and thought the reflection was due on Sunday, not Friday.”

Schizas attached a link to a Canadian Olympic Committee news release to prove her participation. She captioned the social media post, “LOLLLL I❤️being a student athlete.”

Fresh off her gold medal win in Italy, skier Breezy Johnson spoke with NBC News NOW about being the first gold medalist for Team USA for the 2026 Winter Games. Johnson reflected on fears that past injuries would dash her Olympic dreams and her message to Lindsey Vonn, following her injury in the Games.

‘It doesn’t feel real yet’: Breezy Johnson on winning gold

05:41

How good a feeling must it be to be able to take a victory lap with gold already secured?

With the women's slopestyle gold medal already secured, Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud wore the Swiss flag as a cape in her final run.

Switzerland have their third gold medal of these Games as their pairing of Franjo von Allmen and Tanguy Nef took the win in the men's team combined skiing.

It is von Allmen's second gold medal of these Games after he took gold in the individual downhill on Saturday. But the win was largely thanks to Nef — he posted a brilliant run in the slalom, the fastest run of the slalom racers, to boost that pairing from fourth to first.

The slalom ended in brutal fashion for Team Italy. Giovanni Franzoni gave Italy the lead after the downhill run, but a poor run from teammate Alex Vinatzer in the slalom meant they dropped from first to seventh and out of the medals.

We are going to have a shared silver medal. Another Swiss pairing of Marco Odermatt and Loic Meillard and the Austrian pair of Vincent Kriechmayr and Manuel Feller posted the exact same combined time.

It is the first time this event has been run in the Olympics, with the women due to race tomorrow. U.S. Ski and Snowboard announced this morning that downhill gold medalist Breezy Johnson will team up with Mikaela Shiffrin in the headline pairing, with four American teams due to compete.

The Milan Cortina Organising Committee has confirmed they are aware of damage to "a small number" of Olympic medals and are investigating the matter.

The gold medals belonging to Team USA's Breezy Johnson and Alysa Liu have both had the piece connecting their medal to their ribbons snap — though Liu's medal appears to have been repaired as she wore it during an appearance on "TODAY" this morning.

A gold medal at the 2026 winter games.  Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP - Getty Images

“Milano Cortina 2026 is taking the issue seriously, fully recognising the significance these medals hold for the athletes,” Olympic organizers said in a statement.

NBC News' Steve Kornacki outlines the rules and tricks to win the five snowboarding events at the Milan Cortina Olympic Games: snowboard cross, parallel giant slalom, halfpipe, slopestyle and big air. 

Kornacki breaks down the snowboarding events

03:05

Competing at her first Olympics, figure skater Ellie Kam won a gold medal in her first event yesterday, when she, her pairs partner Danny O'Shea and five other U.S. skaters earned gold in the team event, a one-point win over Japan.

"Honestly, the national anthem definitely hit me hard emotionally," Kam told "TODAY" today, along with O'Shea, Amber Glenn and Alysa Liu. "Dave and I have been working so hard for this moment and to be able to celebrate with such an amazing team, it felt it was just kind of a magical experience, and so emotional, and all the good feelings, like happy tears all the way."

Liu said this Olympics "definitely feels really different" from 2022, when Covid precautions left athletes competing in front of empty stands. The U.S. team was welcomed by thunderous applause and cheers while hopping on the medal podium together.

U.S. figure skaters talk winning gold

03:29

It's a repeat of Beijing — Eileen Gu will have to settle for silver in this event as Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud defends the title she won four years ago.

Gu, having qualified second, had to go before Gremaud in the crucial final run, knowing she had to beat Gremaud's massive second run to take gold. The pressure was on but Gu's run did not go to plan, slipping off the first rail to bail out.

Silver medalist Eileen Gu of China, gold medalist Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland and bronze medalist Megan Oldham of Canada after the women's slopestyle final. Michael Reaves / Getty Images

Without needing to improve, Mathilde Gremaud takes a victory lap down the slope wearing the Swiss flag like a cape around her neck. A deserved gold medal for Gremaud, who celebrated her 26th birthday yesterday.

Canada's Megan Oldham recovered from a crash on the second run. She played it safe off the jumps, but she did enough to improve with her third run to take bronze with a score of 76.46, narrowly beating Britain's Kirsty Muir. Team USA's Avery Krumme stumbled off the first rail on her final run, which means she doesn't improve — but at 17 years old and having only debuted on the World Cup circuit last year, she will come again.

Gu's attention will now turn to the halfpipe and the big air events — she is the defending champion in both.

Team USA’s Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin spoke to reporters after their round robin loss to Italy about the match and what they’ll take from it as they move to the mixed doubles curling semifinals.

Eileen Gu and Mathilde Gremaud look streets ahead of the rest of the field, but the bronze medal looks up for grabs for whoever holds their nerve.

Canada's Megan Oldham's first run is currently good enough for bronze. She looked to go big on her second run but suffered a big crash off the last jump.

Britain's Kirsty Muir has looked a little nervy and is yet to nail a clean run down the course. Team USA's Avery Krumme also hasn't yet had a clean run, so it is all to play for.

They all have one final attempt to earn themselves an Olympic medal.

Mathilde Gremaud, that is mega!

She is delighted with that run, and she is now in the lead as her second run scores 86.96 as the cowbells ring out across Livigno. Her work on the rails was much cleaner this time around and she went huge with her jumps.

Gremaud takes to the skies over Livigno this morning. Michael Reaves / Getty Images

A messy first rail from Eileen Gu on her second run means she does not improve this time around.

It all comes down to the third and final runs — all the pressure is now on Gu if she wants to claim gold. Gremaud's score is going to take some beating.

Reporting live from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, moments after the conclusion of the Super Bowl, NBC’s Mike Tirico spoke about Lindsey Vonn’s crash, legacy and the latest on her status.

Canada's Megan Oldham — who was in bronze medal position after the first slopestyle run — looked to solidify her position as she attempted to go big on the jumps on her second run. It was a strong run until the final jump, but she fell as she attempted her biggest trick of the competition.

Oldham crashing today. Hannah Peters / Getty Images

Fortunately, she's back up on her feet — let's hope she is OK for her third and final run, as that looked like being a run that could have really established her as a medal contender.

A brilliant way for Eileen Gu to begin this competition — she tears down the course on her opening run to top the leaderboard. Off the jumps, she lands back-to-back double corkscrews and a score of 86.58 is huge and would have been enough to win gold in Beijing. "Yes!" she shouts at the end of her run. That was some statement for a first run.

Mathilde Gremaud follows Gu down the course. She nailed the jumps, but the defending champion's tricks through the rails are not quite as clean as Gu's, as she scores 83.60 for second place.

Grab your popcorn, this battle is on!

It's time for one of the most exhilarating events of the Winter Olympics as the women's freeski slopestyle gets underway. The event will see China's superstar Eileen Gu compete for her first medal of these Games.

The poster girl of the Beijing 2022 Games and undisputedly the biggest name in freestyle skiing, Gu won three medals in her debut Olympics, including silver in this event. She was the first freeskier to win three medals at the same Winter Olympics.

Eileen Gu of China warms up prior to the women's slopestyle final today. Patrick Smith / Getty Images

The California-born Gu hasn't competed much in this discipline since Beijing — she has only competed in four World Cup events in slopestyle since the last Olympics as she juggled the sport with both her studies at Stanford, where she majored in international relations, and her blooming fashion and modeling career.

Today is expected to be a shootout for gold between Gu and Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud, who beat Gu to gold in Beijing by a mere 0.33 points. Gremaud and Gu came first and second in qualifying Saturday. This is the only gold that eluded Gu in Beijing, and today's contest is going to be a must-watch.

Team USA's Avery Krumme, who grew up in Canada but switched to represent the United States last year, finished 4th in qualifying and could also contend for a medal here. She is making her Olympic debut at 17 years old.

Avery Krumme competing in Livigno on Saturday. Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP - Getty Images

Each athlete will get three runs down the course, performing outrageous tricks across rails and jumps. Then it's over to the judges to give their scores. The best score for each athlete will count

Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews will serve as captain of the United States men’s Olympic ice hockey team at the Milan Cortina Games, USA Hockey announced yesterday.

Auston Matthews training in Milan yesterday. Gregory Shamus / Getty Images

Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk and the Boston Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy will serve as alternate captains, with the three reprising their roles from last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, where the Americans lost in the final to Canada.

“Auston, Charlie and Matthew did a great job in leading our team a year ago at the 4 Nations Face-Off and it’s great to have them back,” general manager Bill Guerin said.

The host nation has had a very strong start to Day 3 of these Games. In addition to a curling triumph over Team USA, Italy has also topped the leaderboard after the downhill run of the men's skiing team combined event.

Italy's Giovanni Franzoni, who took silver in the individual downhill event Saturday, posted a time of 1:51.80 to put his team in pole position. Three Swiss pairs all follow closely behind, with the top four separated by less than half a second.

Italy's Giovanni Franzoni competing today. Alexis Boichard / Agence Zoom / Getty Images

The medals will be decided later today with the slalom runs at 8 a.m. ET. The times for both runs are combined to give the overall leaderboard.

Here is a look at the complete standings for women's hockey heading into Day 4, when the U.S. plays Switzerland.

Group A

United States (2-0) — 6 points

Czechia (1-2) — 4 points

Canada (1-0) — 3 points

Switzerland (1-1) — 2 points

Finland (0-2) — 0 points

Note: Switzerland defeated Czechia in an overtime shootout Friday. A regulation win counts as three points, an overtime win counts as two points and an overtime loss also notches a point. 

It went down to the wire but with the last stone of the match, Italy's Stefania Constantini secured a 7-6 victory for the hosts.

Constantini of Italy competing against Team USA today.  Carmen Mandato / Getty Images

The good news is that Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse are through to the semifinals regardless after winning six of their nine round robin matches. The American duo will have their chance for revenge later on today — they will face Italy again in the semifinals at 12:05 p.m. ET. Top seeds Britain will face Sweden in the other semifinal.

We're set for a dramatic finale in Cortina!

Team USA have leveled up the scores at 6-6 heading into the eighth and final end. Italy will have the final stone in the last end, so they will have the slight advantage.

Yesterday, Team USA's Breezy Johnson said her gold medal broke hours after receiving it. She said she was jumping in celebration while wearing the medal, which caused the piece connecting it to the ribbon to snap off.

A second team USA medal appears to have has broken in the same way.This time, Alysa Liu's gold medal fractured hours after she was awarded it as part of the American winning figure skating team. In a reel on Instagram, the 20-year-old held up the pieces, jokingly captioning the clip "my medal don't need the ribbon."

Liu celebrates winning gold yesterday. Elsa / Getty Images

It's not the first time there have been issues with Olympic medals. Some medals awarded in the Paris 2024 Games, each containing a small piece of iron from the Eiffel Tower, lost their luster. Last year, the French Mint announced it had received requests to replace 220 tarnished medals.

A loud roar erupted from the home crowd at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium after a sensational shot by Italy’s Stefania Constantini in the fifth end.

Constantini of Italy, center, competing against Team USA today. Eric Bolte / Imagn via Reuters

With the last stone of the end, Constantini angled her shot out wide, hitting another stone and sending it straight into the Americans' stones in the center of the target. All of the U.S.' stones drifted out of the target, handing Italy four crucial points.

That puts Italy 6-2 ahead. With three ends to go, Team USA will need a big-scoring end of their own to get back into this.

Americans Lily Dhawornvej, Jessica Perlmutter and Hahna Norman finished 20th, 23rd and 28th, respectively, missing the top-12 cut in women’s snowboard big air qualifying.

Four ends down, four to go. There is nothing to separate Team USA and Italy at the halfway stage of their curling mixed doubles match-up, with the scores tied at 2-2.

A reminder, the Team USA duo of Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse have already booked their spot in the semifinals, which take place later today. But victory here will improve their seeding and hand them an easier route to the medals.

The host country, Italy, is leading in overall medals heading into Day 3 of the Winter Games.

But the most gold medals so far have gone to Norway, which has six medals in total.

Team USA has two, both gold, after Breezy Johnson's victory in women's downhill skiing and the United States' powerhouse performance for the figure skating team event.

Over on the ski mountain at Cortina, we're about to see the start of the men's combined event, which comes to these Games with a brand new format.

Previously, this event would see one skier take on runs in both downhill and slalom. This time, it is a team affair with one skier per team taking on the downhill, and a second skier tackling the slalom. Those times are combined to give a team its position on the leaderboard.

The downhill runs are first up.

Team USA will be represented by Kyle Negomir and River Radamus. Negomir finished 10th in the men's individual downhill Saturday. It would be a shock if Negomir and Radamus contend for a medal. Switzerland are heavily tipped for gold here, with downhill gold medalist Franjo von Allmen aiming to win his second gold medal of the Games.

Kyle Negomir of Team USA in Bormio, Italy, on Friday. Dustin Satloff / Getty Images

The women's event — following the same format —takes place tomorrow with newly crowned downhill gold medalist Breezy Johnson pairing up with Mikaela Shiffrin for Team USA in what will be Shiffrin's first appearance of these Games. Team USA will have four pairs in the field tomorrow.

There are five medal events today, including the slopestyle final in women’s skiing. Tonight, American figure skaters Madison Chock and Evan Bates look to continue their dominant start in rhythm dance and the U.S. women’s hockey team faces Switzerland.

All times are in Eastern, and asterisks mean it’s a medal event:

4:05 a.m.: Curling, mixed doubles (Norway vs. South Korea, Italy vs. United States, Switzerland vs. Canada, Czechia vs. Estonia)

4:30 a.m: Alpine skiing, men’s combined downhill

6:10 a.m: Women’s ice hockey (Japan vs. Italy)

6:30 a.m: Women’s freestyle skiing, slopestyle final*

Team USA's Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse are on the ice in Cortina, and that means the action for Day 3 of these Games is officially underway.

Dropkin and Thiesse will get the final stone, known as the hammer, in the first end of this match-up, so they will be hoping to take an early advantage.

Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin celebrate their victory over Sweden yesterday. Andrew Milligan / PA Images via Getty

Team USA duo Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse have already made history in Cortina — they are already assured of a spot in the semifinals as the first American team to advance in this event — but that does not lessen the importance of their final round robin match-up against defending gold medalists Italy this morning.

Victory would see Dropkin and Thiesse clinch the second seed going into the semifinals later today, which would see them face Sweden in the semifinals, a team they beat yesterday. Defeat would drop the U.S. duo to third in the standings and would see them face Italy again, a tougher route to an Olympic medal.

The action at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium gets underway today at 4:05 a.m. ET.

“I hope people can see my story and the stories of other Black women in winter sports and then, hopefully, we’ll have more coming up soon,” Erin Jackson said.  Jurij Kodrun / International Skating Union via Getty Images

When American speedskater Erin Jackson won the 500 meters at the Beijing Games four years ago, she knew, of course, that it was her first Olympic medal. She also was aware that it had been a while — 28 years, to be exact — since a woman from the U.S. finished first in that event.

What she had no idea about until days later: Jackson was the first Black woman, from any country, to claim an individual gold medal, in any sport, at any Winter Olympics.

Jackson definitely does not want to be the last.

“It was just really surprising, I guess, because I felt like, ‘How could that be?’” she said in an interview with The Associated Press at the U.S. Speedskating trials ahead of the Milan Cortina Games. “When you think about how many Winter Olympics we’ve had, I just thought it was really strange. I hope people can see my story and the stories of other Black women in winter sports and then, hopefully, we’ll have more coming up soon.”

Read the full story here.

Ilia Malinin, Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn, Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea all earned their first Olympic medal, and it’s gold.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates are now two-time Olympic gold medalists.

This U.S. Olympic figure skating team is the strongest in years, so that medal count is only expected to grow as individual competitions get underway this week.

Both U.S. women recorded a top-three finish in the team event, which could signal an impending end to the American medal drought in women’s singles.

Go inside the rings and relive all the top moments from Day 2 of the Milan Cortina Olympics.