Winter Olympics live: Team GB go for curling gold as women’s halfpipe final postponed due to bad weather

Nice work from Bobby Lammie who displaces the two yellow stones inside the house and leaves Team GB sitting three up.

At the halfway point of the match, Canada’s reply is to draw into a red and nudge two of them out of the house.

A tactical first end this one.

Hammy McMillan sends down the first stone and plays a centre guard.

Canada have the hammer in this first end and respond through Ben Hebert who shouts down that the ‘line’s good’.

His first stone lands in the green circle in the house and this gold medal match is underway!

An atmospheric light show to begin, then the traditional bagpipe players walk out to warm applause. The two teams walk out right after them, with a mix of jeers and cheers for each.

Bruce Mouat gets an extra loud cheer from the large contingent of British fans - and the Tartan Army right behind the Canadians' bench, who have caused a ruckus throughout this week.

Okay, it’s almost time for the men’s curling gold medal match.

Great Britain vs Canada.

This is the third time in four Winter Olympics that Team GB have played for the gold.

Both previous attempts saw them beaten as David Murdoch’s rink lost in Sochi (2014) and Bruce Mouat’s side lost in Beijing (2022).

Skip: Bruce Mouat

Third: Grant Hardie

Second: Bobby Lammie

Lead: Hammy McMillan Jr.

Alternate: Kyle Waddell

Before a game of curling begins, teams decide who will have what is also known as Last Stone Advantage. In championship curling the hammer is decided by a draw to the button with two players from each team delivering a stone as close as possible to the centre of the house – one stone is delivered clockwise and the other counter-clockwise – and the distance from the stone to the centre being measured.

This process is called the Last Stone Draw or LSD.

In the men’s and women’s events, the final two stones of each end are generally thrown by the skip. This is the de facto captain of each rink, who shapes their team’s strategy and must execute calmly under pressure.

The hammer is a crucial part of curling.

The team that has the hammer is able to throw the final stone of each end, generally a significant advantage, with all other stones thrown and the current scoring situation clear.

Whichever team doesn’t score during an end will get the hammer in the next round – this sometimes causes teams to avoid scoring just a single point, instead preferring to retain the hammer and score more heavily in the next end. It is retained if neither team scores.

Preparations are underway for tonight's blockbuster final, with volunteers out shaving down and polishing the ice.

Some have brooms - regular ones, not curling brooms - to sweep away the ice shards and leave the sheet perfectly smooth.

Tonight's final is taking place on Sheet C, where Canada beat GB 9-5 in the round robin, and Bruce Mouat's rink will be hoping to turn the tables tonight.

After what feels like a thousand days of curling, here we are. Team GB’s men are in the final. A medal, either gold or silver, awaits.

For Bruce Mouat’s rink – the dominant force in curling, the reigning world champions, the four-time European champions, and Olympic silver medallists four years ago – it has to be gold.

The women’s half-pipe final at Milano-Cortina 2026 has been pushed back to Sunday after a snowstorm hit Livigno, where the snowsport events are taking place.

Saturday’s final was initially delayed by an hour and a half due to heavy snowfall in Livigno which completely blanketed the half-pipe, with poor visibility making it unsafe for the event to go ahead.