The Starting Lineup

Day Six of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics

Team GB excelled on the sixth day of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, as Great Britain eye up their first medal of the games.

Matt Weston is in pole position for a gold medal in the skeleton, setting two track records back-to-back in the heats. He leads by a comfortable margin in front of the Germans, with his teammate Marcus Wyatt further back in seventh.

However, a controversial decision from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meant that Ukrainian flagbearer Vladyslav Heraskevych was disqualified from the event, after days of speculation regarding his helmet.

Brits at the Olympics

Skeleton – Men’s Heats

Matt Weston leads the men’s skeleton, setting back-to-back track records in the first two heats, as Vladyslav Heraskevych is disqualified from the event.

Weston broke the track record at the Cortina Sliding Centre during his first run, with a time of 56.21 seconds, which was demolished by his second run, setting a new record of 55.88.

The 28-year-old is pursued by the German pairing of Axel Jungk and Christopher Grotheer, who sit 0.3 and 0.46 seconds behind him, respectively, as the Briton has a comfortable deficit over his closest competitors.

Fellow countryman, Marcus Wyatt, is in seventh, 1.12 seconds behind the reigning World Cup champion. He finished 0.1 seconds above the trio of Zheng Yin, Seunggi Jung, and Qinwei Lin, who finished with the same time after both heats.

Heraskevych was excluded following a warning from the IOC, regarding his “helmet of remembrance” depicting fallen Ukrainian athletes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian flagbearer received the warning on Tuesday, but after two days of discussions, he was unyielding.

According to rule 40.2 of the Olympic Charter: “All competitors, team officials or other team personnel in the Olympic Games shall enjoy freedom of expression in keeping with the Olympic values and the fundamental principles of Olympism, and in accordance with the guidelines determined by the IOC Executive Board.”

The athlete expression guidelines state that: “It is a fundamental principle that sport at the Olympic Games is neutral and must be separate from political, religious and any other type of interference. Specifically, the focus on the field of play during competitions and official ceremonies must be on celebrating athletes’ performances.”

The IOC made the controversial decision to disqualify the 27-year-old athlete on Thursday, as they believed him to be in breach of the rules.

Despite finishing 15th in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Weston fought back to become Great Britain’s first skeleton world champion in eight years in St. Moritz in 2023 – Lizzy Yarnold being the last.

In June, Weston said “it’s pretty amazing” to be called the best in the world at skeleton, adding, “I started the sport nine years ago and I’ve always had that goal, that ambition.

“When I won the first Worlds, I actually struggled with it quite a lot the next season,” he said, adding, “I’ve had a few years now that I’ve been in that position, I’ve kind of got used to it and turned it in my favour.”

He added another title to his name at the 2025 Lake Placid World Championships in the USA, and became a three-time IBSF World Cup champion, winning consecutively from 2023/24 to 2025/26.

Weston could claim Olympic gold on Friday after the remaining two heats if he maintains a tremendous run of form at the Milano Cortina Games.

Curling – Men’s Round Robin

Bruce Mouat took his revenge on Rasmus Wranaa in Team GB’s 6-3 victory over Sweden in the men’s curling.

Great Britain took an early lead, going 2-0 up in the first end. After failing to score in the second and third ends, they capitalised in the fourth and fifth, extending their lead to 4-1.

Mouat got his revenge in the seventh end, when his stone dispersed three of Sweden’s, ensuring a comfortable 6-2 deficit. The Scandinavian side decided to concede the final two ends, which meant Team GB remain unbeaten after their 9-3 win against the People’s Republic of China on Wednesday.

However, Mouat’s heard this story before. Despite a seven-game winning streak, Great Britain lost to Sweden in the semi-finals of the mixed doubles, in which the 31-year-old and Jennifer Dodds were favourites to win.

Nonetheless, Swedish siblings, Isabella and Rasmus Wranaa, went on to win gold, beating the United States in the final. Team GB, on the other hand, missed out on bronze, losing 5-3 to home heroes Italy.

Curling – Women’s Round Robin

Great Britain lost their opening match 7-4 against the People’s Republic of China in the women’s event, as Jennifer Dodds shrugs off a squandered opportunity for Team GB’s inaugurate medal.

Dodds returend to action on Thursday following a bruising loss to Italy in the bronze medal match in the mixed doubles on Tuesday.

Sophie Jackson led the charge as skip, taking over from Eve Muirhead from Beijing in 2022, as Great Britain are seeking to retain their Winter Olympic crown.

It was a stalemate for the fist couple ends, but Team GB prevailed in the third with Rebecca Morrison delivering a crucial stone to put Great Britain 2-0 ahead. China compensated in the fourth end, levelling the scoreline, with the final blow delivered by skip Rui Wang.

From then it was smooth sailing for China, who got back-to-back doubles in the seventh and eighth end, taking their advantage to 6-3 over the reigning Olympic champions.

There was no way back for Great Britain, who scraped a point in the ninth end, but had to settle for a 7-4 defeat. They will return on Friday to face the Republic of Korea.

Freestyle Skiing – Men’s Moguls

Mateo Jeannesson failed to qualify for the finals in the men’s moguls after recurring injury on his Olympic debut.

The 21-year-old suffered a fractured heel in October last year, skiing in icy conditions, which did not fully heal before the Olympics, despite efforts at rehabilitation.

A dodgy landing during his first run on Tuesday demoted Jeannesson to 28th with a score of 44.64, and on the morning of the second qualification, his heel had not fully recovered.

The Briton still competed and improved on his second run, with a score of 56.46, but it was not enough for him to progress, finishing 30th in the event.

He said: “I just was struggling to get over the pain, and I thought at one point I might just not compete,” adding, “this is not what I’m capable of, I’m capable of a lot better, so it is what it is.”

Australia’s Cooper Woods prevailed over Mikael Kingsbury for gold, despite producing the same score as the Canadian, 83.71.

The turn score was the ultimate decider to separate the two, with Woods’ 48.4 better than Kingsbury’s 47.7, denying the latter of his second Olympic gold medal.

Jeannesson is scheduled for a return to the Winter Olympics on Sunday in the dual moguls, but it is uncertain whether his injury will prevent him from competing.

Snowboard – Men’s Snowboard Cross

Huw Nightingale failed to qualify for the quarterfinals, despite finishing 10th in the first run of seeding.

The 24-year-old unfortunately finished last in the 1/8 finals against the Austrian Alessandro Haemmerle, and the Americans Jake Vedder and Coady Winters, the latter not making it through.

Haemmerle went on to win gold for Austria in the final, while Vedder did not make it past the quarterfinals.

Cross-Country Skiing – Women’s 10km Interval Start Free

Anna Pryce’s maiden Winter Olympics concluded on Thursday after a busy schedule for the 24-year-old.

The Briton from Aberdeen finished 24th in her final race of the games, after previously competing in the women’s 10km + 10km skiathon and sprint classic, finishing 42nd and 32nd, respectively.

Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt will be in action in the men’s skeleton on Friday, while the women’s event will begin, with Tabitha Stoecker, Amelia Coltman and Freya Tarbit taking to the ice.

Team GB will also hope to maintain their unbeaten streak in the men’s curling, alongside other events in the snowboard, cross-country skiing and biathlon.

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