Curling Kicks Off Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics with Mixed Doubles Action
Curling has officially begun at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games, marking a unique aspect of this year’s competition: it’s the only sport scheduled for daily viewing throughout the entire Games. The mixed doubles tournament launched the first day of competition on Wednesday evening (AEDT), though not without an initial disruption as the Cortina Olympic Stadium experienced a temporary power outage.
The mixed doubles format, which debuted at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, is already proving to be a focal point of the early Olympic schedule. Unlike the traditional men’s and women’s team events, mixed doubles features teams of two athletes, each delivering five stones per end – a total of ten stones played per end. This differs from the four-person teams in the standard events, where each player throws two stones per end for a total of eight.
A key element of the mixed doubles competition is the “power play,” a strategic maneuver that adds another layer of complexity to the game. In most ends, teams with the “hammer” – the last stone advantage – begin with a stone positioned at the back of the four-foot circle. The team without the hammer typically starts with a center guard. However, when a team utilizes the power play, the pre-placed stones are repositioned to the sides of the sheet, creating a corner guard and a stone behind it, aligned with the tee line. This strategic shift opens up the center of the sheet, potentially creating more scoring opportunities.
Each team is permitted to call the power play only once per game, making its deployment a crucial tactical decision. The power play is designed to disrupt the opponent’s strategy and create a more dynamic and unpredictable end.
Representing Scotland, Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds are aiming for a medal after securing victory at the 2021 World Championships. They will be looking to improve upon their fourth-place finish at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Team USA will also be represented in all three curling events – men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles – with Team Casper competing in the men’s event, Team Peterson in the women’s, and the duo of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin in mixed doubles.
The U.S. Teams are hoping to secure the nation’s first curling medal in eight years. While the U.S. Achieved a historic gold medal in men’s curling at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, led by John Shuster, the country has yet to reach the podium in the women’s or mixed doubles events. John Shuster’s bid to compete at his sixth consecutive Winter Games fell short, but Team Casper will carry the U.S. Hopes in the men’s competition.
Curling’s journey to becoming a mainstay of the Winter Olympics began at the inaugural Games in 1924 in Chamonix, though it was initially presented as a demonstration event. It was later showcased as a demonstration sport in 1932, 1988, and 1992 before being officially added to the program for the 1998 Nagano Games. Mixed doubles joined the Olympic lineup in 2018, further expanding the sport’s presence on the world stage.
This year’s Games are also seeing the introduction of new technological advancements in the coverage of curling. Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), the host broadcaster, is utilizing AI-powered stone tracing alongside an overhead rail camera to provide viewers with enhanced insights into the sport. The AI system tracks the stone’s path from release to the target, displaying its trajectory, speed, and rotation through live data panels. This technology aims to clarify the strategic elements of curling, such as guards and draws, in real-time.
The AI system employs 12 cameras for each of the four curling sheets to precisely track each stone’s movement. The overhead rail camera, spanning the entire length of the sheet, captures the energy and speed of play from a unique perspective. These innovations, combined with virtualized outside broadcast vans, are designed to deliver a more immersive and informative viewing experience for curling fans worldwide.
