MILAN — The 2026 Winter Olympics continue Thursday with more curling mixed doubles round robin matches, men’s Alpine downhill training and luge training runs. But women’s ice hockey enters the chat, highlighted by Hilary Knight and the U.S. women’s hockey team opening their Olympic slate against Czechia, and ski jumping gets in the mix with training runs, too.
The opening ceremony is set for Friday, and the first medals can be won Saturday. Here is the full Winter Olympics schedule.
USA TODAY Sports is bringing you the latest updates, news and Olympics results from here in Italy. Follow along.
End of second period: USA 4, Czechia 1
Big period there by Tessa Jannecke, who had two assists in her Olympic debut to give the USA a 3-0 lead. The United States had a chance to build on that lead with a power play, but Czechia killed it off, and Barbara Jurickova scored after coming out of the penalty box.
But Hilary Knight restored the USA’s three-goal lead with a power move for her 13th career Olympic goal, one shy of tying the U.S. record. The Americans will start the third period short-handed.
Lindsey Vonn set to start training run with torn ACL
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy – Lindsey Vonn will start 10th in an all-important training run Friday.
Vonn plans to ski at the Milano Cortina Olympics despite a torn ACL, bone bruise, and meniscus damage in her left knee from a Jan. 30 crash. She said Tuesday that she’d gone skiing and her knee had held up fine, but acknowledged the official training runs would be the true test.
There will be another training run on Saturday before Sunday’s downhill race. The first training run, which was supposed to be Thursday, was canceled because of heavy snow in Cortina on Wednesday.
Vonn is one of six U.S. skiers who will participate in the training run. Breezy Johnson will start ninth, Jackie Wiles 20th, Keely Cashman 26th, Bella Wright 29th and Mary Bocock, the only Olympic rookie on the U.S. women’s ski team, will start 41st. – Nancy Armour, USA TODAY Sports
Vice President JD Vance in attendance
Vice President JD Vance and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio are on hand at the Rho Ice Hockey Arena in Milan to cheer on the U.S. women’s national hockey team against Czechia. Vance and Rubio entered the arena with their entourage, with about six minutes remaining in the first period.
Women’s hockey: USA 1, Czechia 0, End 1
The USA had the first five shots of the game and Czechia the next three.
The USA broke through on a power play when Alex Carpenter tipped in a Megan Keller shot at 15:55 for the lone goal of the period. Shots are 14-3 in favor of the USA.
Weather dispatch from Italy. Warm? Cold? Wet? Snowy? All of the above!
Alpine skier rooting for the Patriots in Super Bowl 60
Vermont’s Ryan Cochran-Siegle is considered Team USA’s best hope for a medal in men’s alpine skiing at the Milano Cortina Olympic Games.
He’s also a big fan of the New England Patriots.
Those facts will clash in the coming days. Cochran-Siegle is set to compete in the men’s team combined slalom on Feb. 9 in Bormio. That’ll be the day after the Patriots and Seattle Seahawks meet in a Super Bowl that’ll transpire in the middle of the night in Italy.
Competing in the Olympics on a lack of sleep isn’t advisable, meaning that Cochran-Siegle “unfortunately” said he isn’t planning to watch the game live.
‘I’ll probably just be sleeping in my Drake Maye jersey hoping that they are scoring lots of touchdowns,” Cochran-Siegle said.
On Feb. 4, Cochran-Siegle posted the top training time ahead of the Feb. 7 downhill event in Bormio, boosting hopes that he can build off the Super-G silver medal he won in 2022.
Nonetheless, much of a Feb. 5 media Zoom call with members of the U.S. men’s alpine team had to do with the Patriots. Cochran-Siegle’s teammate, Sam Morse, is from Maine, and he said that he will be able to stay up and watch.
“I definitely want to cheer on the Pats,” Morse said.
Cochran-Siegle, meanwhile, showed an impressive knowledge of football when asked to dig into his thoughts on the Patriots’ season. He shouted out first-year New England coach Mike Vrabel for “his ability to build that culture of really bringing the team in.”
Asked if he really brought a jersey of the team’s quarterback with him, Cochran-Siegle immediately held up a Maye jersey for the camera.
“They’ve had an awesome run,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure to be a Patriots fan this year.” – Gentry Estes, The Tennesseean
Olympic curling results: USA keeps rolling in mixed doubles
The United States mixed doubles curling team of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin continued their winning ways in the round-robin portion of the competition. The Americans beat Switzerland 7-4.
Earlier in the day, the team started play with an 8-6 win over Norway on Day 2 of the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Can athletes find love at the Olympics?
The 24-year-old from Lake Placid, New York, isn’t picky. She’s open to sip cappuccinos with fans. She’s down to swig Aperol spritzes with fellow athletes.
Kirkby is making her Olympic debut in a brand new event: Women’s doubles luge. Once she and partner Chevonne Forgan finish competing Feb. 11, Kirkby will open up her heart and her dating app profiles. She hopes the following two weeks will provide “crazy stories” to document via journaling and social media posting.
“My married women, my girl friends and my fellow single ladies, I will be there for them to live vicariously through me. Because I, too, am curious. How does an Olympian date?” − Payton Titus, Louisville Courier Journal
Graphics: How Olympic curling works
Curling has been an Olympic staple for more than a century − it was one of the original sports featured in 1924 when the first Winter Games were held in Chamonix, France.
This year’s competition will be hosted at Italy’s Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, a venue built in 1955 for the Cortina d’Ampezzo 1956 Olympic Winter Games.
The sport, sometimes referred to as ‘chess on ice,’ is characterized by the strategic delivery of granite stones across ice using a broom. The goal is for players to transport the stone to a target circle, referred to as ‘the house.’
Check out USA TODAY’s animated graphics describing the rules, scoring, equipment, strategy and more. − Veronica Bravo, Carlie Procell, Cydney Henderson
Vonn continues to amaze in workout video
Lindsey Vonn is able to do things with a busted knee that regular people can’t when fully healthy.
The 41-year-old posted a video of herself Thursday, Feb. 5 doing squats, side lunges, lifting weights, jumping and kicking her feet against a stability ball. The only sign of the torn ACL, bone bruise and meniscus damage in her left knee is the brace she’s wearing.
‘I’m not giving up,’ Vonn said in the Instagram post, ‘working as hard as I can to make it happen!’ − Nancy Armour
Virus outbreak postpones Canada-Finland hockey
Thursday’s preliminary women’s hockey matchup between Finland and defending Olympic champion Canada has been postponed following a norovirus outbreak among the Finnish team, the 2026 Milano Cortina organizing committee announced Thursday afternoon, hours ahead of the originally scheduled puck drop.
The match will now played Thursday, Feb. 12, at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The announcement came shortly after an afternoon practice session where only 10 players from Finland’s 23-woman roster were present. The remaining 13 players were either sick with norovirus or quarantined. − Cydney Henderson
US women’s hockey begins quest for gold
The U.S. women’s hockey team’s pursuit for its first Olympic gold medal since 2018 begins today with a preliminary matchup against Czechia.
The U.S. women won silver at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, but are clear favorites to claim gold after winning a World Championship title in April and sweeping Canada in the 2025 Rivalry Series in December to close out the year.
The Americans are the top seed in Group A, which also features reigning Olympic champion Canada.
Follow the action live, with the opening faceoff set for 10:40 a.m. ET. − Cydney Henderson
USOPC security chief: ‘No ICE agents’ at Olympics
After hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Milan to protest the announcement that ICE officers would be accompanying the American delegation to the Milano Cortina Winter Games, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said Thursday there aren’t any ICE agents in Italy with Team USA.
“I can tell you unequivocally, there are no ICE agents that are part of the team USA delegation on the ground here in Milan,” said Nicole Deal, Chief of Security and Athlete Services for the USOPC. “When it comes to securing major events, a lot of people don’t know what the capabilities and the resources that are needed, so there’s a lot of misinformation and assumptions that are made.’
Deal’s comments contradict what government officials previously said, that the U.S. immigration agency would assist in security operations for these Olympics, as it has done in the past. − Jordan Mendoza
Olympics schedule today
All times Eastern.
4:05 a.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
GBR vs. EST; SWE vs. CZE; NOR vs. USA; KOR vs. ITA
5:30 a.m.: Alpine Skiing – Men’s Downhill 2nd Official Training | Stelvio Ski Centre (Bormio, Valtellina)
6:10 a.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary | SWE vs. GER | Milan Rho Ice Hockey Arena (Milan)
8:30 a.m. & 9:27 a.m.: Luge – Men’s Singles Official Training (Runs 3-4) | Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
8:35 a.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
USA vs. SUI; NOR vs. CAN
8:40 a.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary (Italy vs. France) | Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena (Milan)
10:40 a.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary (USA vs. Czechia) | Milan Rho Ice Hockey Arena (Milan)
11 a.m.: Luge – Women’s Singles Official Training (Runs 1-2) | Cortina Sliding Centre (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
11 a.m.: Ski Jumping – Women’s NH — Official Training 1 | Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium (Predazzo)
1:05 p.m.: Curling – Mixed Doubles Round Robin | Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium (Cortina d’Ampezzo)
CAN vs. ITA; SUI vs. KOR; EST vs. SWE; CZE vs. GBR
1:30-3:45 p.m. : Snowboarding – Men’s Big Air Qualifying Runs 1, 2 and 3 | Livigno Snow Park (Livigno, Valtellina)
2 p.m.: Ski Jumping – Men’s NH Official Training 1 | Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium (Predazzo)
3:10 p.m.: Ice Hockey – Women’s Preliminary | FIN vs. CAN | Milan Rho Ice Hockey Arena (Milan)
2026 Winter Olympics TV schedule today
Peacock is streaming every event live today.
Steam Olympics on Peacock
Olympic curling results
The American mixed doubles team of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin rallied to defeat Norway, sending the 2022 silver medalists to 0-2 at this year’s Games. Cory and Korey get a brief break before facing Switzerland at 8:35 a.m. ET.
Elsewhere during round robin play, hosts Italy defeated South Korea (8-4), Sweden beat Czechia (7-4) and Great Britain handled Estonia (10-5).
Olympic Alpine skiing results
The U.S. men are saving their best runs for the downhill race.
No American was in the top 15 in Thursday’s training run. Kyle Negomir was the fastest, in 19th place, and his time of 1:55.1 was more than two seconds behind Italy’s Mattia Casse. Bryce Bennett and Ryan Cochran-Siegle were 27th and 28th, Sam Morse was 30th and River Radamus was 33rd.
Cochran-Siegle, a three-time Olympian who took silver in the super-G at the 2022 Olympics, posted the fastest time in the first training session on Wednesday. He finished third in downhill last weekend in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, and was second in the downhill at Beaver Creek, Colorado, in December. He’s traditionally done well in Bormio, his only World Cup win coming there in super-G in 2021.
The Americans weren’t the only ones taking it easy. Several of the top racers, including much of the mighty Swiss contingent, were clearly coasting as they approached the finish line.
Italians posted the top three fastest times of the day: Casse (1:52.85), Florian Schieder (1:53.30) and Giovanni Franzoni (1:53.72).
There is one more training run Friday before Saturday’s downhill race. — Nancy Armour
Alysa Liu gets US Figure Skating nod for women’s short program team event
U.S. Figure Skating has selected its lineup for the first day of the team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The biggest decision was the women’s short program, with Alysa Liu getting the selection in what felt like a toss-up between the reigning world champion and 2026 U.S. national champion Amber Glenn. Liu’s short program to Laufey’s ‘Promise’ is a strong performance, but it could have gone to Glenn with her ‘Like a Prayer’ by Madonna routine. Now, Glenn could be set up to be in the free skate portion of the team event, which is Sunday, Feb. 8. — Jordan Mendoza
Olympic Alpine skiing results
Americans Kyle Negomir (1:55.10), Bryce Bennett (1:55.75) and Ryan Cochran-Siegle (1:56.04) finished up their second training runs, and currently sit in 17th, 24th and 25st place, respectively.
Several of the top skiers appeared not to be going all out in this, the second of two training runs. Overall leader Marco Odermatt of Switzerland looked decidedly nonchalant, standing up as he approached the finish line rather than being in an aerodynamic tuck as he would in a race. France’s Alban Elezi Cannaferina even did a snowboard-style twist of his legs after he went over the final jump on the course.
Italy currently has the top three spots, and four of the top five.
Where are Winter Olympics 2026?
The Winter Olympics always sprawl because of the need for mountains. But the Milano Cortina Games are the most geographically spread out in Olympic and Paralympic history, with a footprint just slightly smaller than the entire state of New Jersey.
When is Olympics opening ceremony?
The opening ceremony is Friday, Feb. 6, starting at 2 p.m. ET and lasting around three hours. This year’s opening ceremony will be held at San Siro Stadium in Milan, a 100-year-old venue that will now play host to the likes of Mariah Carey, Andrea Bocelli and athletes from more than 90 countries around the world. Officials previously announced an inclusive theme featuring a show inside the stadium as well as ‘satellite events’ in Olympic territories.