Super Saturday: Team GB's curlers fall short but Zoe Atkin still in contention for gold at Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics
Updated 21/02/2026 at 23:58 GMT
React to this story
It's been a thrilling two weeks of action at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics but Team GB were not able to strike gold on the penultimate day of the Games. Bruce Mouat's curling rink were beaten in the men's final by Canada and Zoe Atkin's halfpipe final was postponed until Sunday morning, while there was frustration for Brad Hall's sled in the four-man bobsleigh.
Are 'stars aligning' for record GB medal haul?
Video credit: TNT Sports
The penultimate day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games didn’t bring the gold rush that Team GB were hoping for, as Bruce Mouat’s curling team were beaten in the final by Canada and the women’s freeski halfpipe final was postponed.
However, Zoe Atkin remains one of the halfpipe favourites and will go for gold on Sunday morning instead, with reigning champion Eileen Gu among the athletes standing in her way.
Meanwhile, Brad Hall’s sled remains in contention for a medal in the four-man bobsleigh but they have work to do in heats three and four, and the finals of the men’s ski cross and two-woman bobsleigh failed to deliver miraculous medals for Britain.
Mouat’s men fall just short
There were tears on the podium for Team GB as Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan lost in the Olympic final for the second successive Games.
Beaten by one in an extra end against Switzerland four years ago, Britain lost 9-6 to Canada this time around, though it all came down to the last stone as Mouat could not dislodge the two opposition stones in the house to force a sudden death shootout.
Team GB led after the eighth end but crumbled in the ninth, allowing Canada to score three which ultimately proved fatal to their chances of picking up the gold.
Hardie and McMillan were particularly emotional on the podium with the latter telling TNT Sports: "It took me four years to get over the first silver so it’ll probably take me a lot longer this time".
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2026/02/21/image-f8c5974b-9e23-42f1-81e5-86b6874d3e85-85-2560-1440.jpeg)
McMillan admits getting over silver will take 'a lot longer' than four years
Video credit: TNT Sports
Aktin forced to wait for showdown with Gu
The other main medal hope for Team GB on Saturday night also failed to deliver - but for very different reasons.
The women’s freeski halfpipe final that will feature the titanic showdown between Atkin and superstar reigning champion Eileen Gu was postponed owing to adverse weather conditions and will now take place at 9:40 UK time.
Atkin topped the scoresheets in qualifying while Gu was down in fifth but had to opt for a more conservative run after hitting the deck with her first attempt.
Gu has had a problem staying up all Games but still picked up a pair of silvers and if she does avoid eating snow in the final she will be very tough to beat.
"It is Zoe Atkin versus Eileen Gu. It will be one of them," TNT Sports expert James Woods said before qualifying.
"It is really exciting to be talking about Zoe Atkin right now. She's been at the top for a long time, but in the last couple of years, she has had this moment, where she has got better, and better, and better.
"It is a bit of a cliche to talk about, but it's obvious to see she is enjoying skiing in the halfpipe. It is so big, it is so dangerous.
"At the end of the day, they are way up there, taking mad risks," Woods added. "If you are not fully invested and enjoying it, it is going to be so hard to perform. Zoe is ticking every single box right now."
Dreadful conditions in the men’s ski cross finals couldn’t help fellow freestyle skier Ollie Smith as he was eliminated in his first race of the day.
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2026/02/19/image-e371c25f-a767-445a-ba2a-720f42ee0d0f-85-2560-1440.jpeg)
Atkin 'really proud' and 'excited' to make halfpipe final
Video credit: TNT Sports
Britain’s bobsledders have work to do
After a strong first run placed them inside the medals, disaster struck Hall’s four-man bobsleigh in their second run leaving them seventh at the halfway point of the competition.
Currently German sleds lock out the top three and Hall, Greg Cackett, Leon Greenwood and Taylor Lawrence are at 0.82s behind the leaders, though only three tenths of Adam Ammour’s third-placed team.
Britain can’t afford any more mistakes and Johannes Lochner’s sled appears on course for gold, but the gap to the podium isn’t insurmountable if Hall and his team can nail their third and fourth heats on Sunday.
- Chalmers backs Team GB’s curlers to challenge for ‘quite a while’
- ‘Absolute joke’ - Howden rages at ‘ridiculous’ ski cross conditions
- 'It was b******!' - German skier fumes after being 'pushed like crazy'
Adele Nicoll and Ashleigh Nelson would have traded places with Hall and company in an instant in the two-woman bobsleigh though, as a catastrophic first two heats on Friday put them two seconds behind the leaders.
The pair did improve on Saturday, moving from 20th to 15th, but they had left themselves far too much to do from day one.
Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on discovery+. Available across all subscription plans, starting at £3.99.
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement