'Absolutely bizarre': Blackout hits Olympic curling opener as heavyweights make early statements

Curling has officially kicked off at Milano Cortina 2026 — though not without a hitch.

As the mixed doubles tournament launched the Games' first day of competition on Wednesday evening (AEDT), the Cortina Olympic Stadium was suddenly plunged into darkness.

During the opening end of Britain's clash against Norway, a sudden technical failure left the arena in shadows and the scoreboards blank.

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"Yeah, well, the power went out," commentator Andrew Swain told Nine's Today of the mid-match blackout.

"That's bizarre, that is absolutely bizarre. But it got back underway."

Fellow commentator Peter Psaltis likened the incident to a famous mishap in Australian sporting history.

"We thought when the power went out it was a bit like Billy Idol and the 2002 NRL grand final, 'Will someone give me some power?'," he joked.

Watch the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now. Plus, every event live & on demand, every medal in 4K, and exclusive international coverage on Stan Sport.

"But eventually we got it back on, and we had a thrilling match this morning.

"It's just great to get the curling underway. There's so much that goes into the sport; it's fascinating."

Canada kicked off their campaign with a dominant 10-5 win over the Czech Republic — a clear statement of intent from one of the gold-medal favourites.

Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman were in control from the first stone, leading throughout to dismantle the Czech pair of Julie Zelingrova and Vit Chabicovsky.

Team GB also delivered a clinical performance, edging out Norway 8-6 in a high-stakes clash between two heavyweight medal contenders.

Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat, the 2021 world champions, recovered from a 1-0 deficit after the first end, using the hammer to strike back with three points in the second.

While Norway's decorated duo of Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten fought back to level the score at 4-4, another clinical three-point haul in the sixth was enough for the Brits to seal the victory.

"The roaring game, we love it. It's like watching Tipping Point. It's all in slow motion, and then you get the big finishes at the end and the rocks spilling out everywhere. That's why we love," Swain said.

Swain is no stranger to the ice himself, competing as a member of the 'Curlews' curling team in Queensland.

Through Nine's commentary, Swain hopes to inject a sense of fun and excitement into the coverage, breaking down the game's nuances so viewers can fully appreciate the action unfolding on the ice.

"There're plenty of nuances to curling, and I think that's what we're really trying to achieve," he said.

"There're some great competitors in this mixed doubles as well. Three married couples — so for those MAFS (Married At First Sight) viewers, watch some real-life married drama. That's going to be good.

"Then you've got the teams events. So there's plenty to look at."

Those three married couples — representing Canada, Norway, and Switzerland — are part of a highly personal 10-team field that also features a Swedish brother-sister duo.

The siblings, Isabella and Rasmus Wrana, secured a dominant 10-3 victory over South Korea's Jeong Yeong-seok and Kim Seon-yeong, who were forced into a concession after just six ends.

Meanwhile, Estonia's Olympic curling debut ended in a hard-fought 9-7 defeat at the hands of Switzerland's Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann and Yannick Schwaller.

Defending champions and home-ice heroes Italy are set to headline the action on Thursday night, with 10 matches scheduled across three high-stakes sessions.

The top four pairs will advance to the semi-finals following nine preliminary rounds, where every team faces off once in a round-robin format.