OLYMPICS: Curling-Perfect Swiss beat Britain to top men's standings

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy – Yannick Schwaller’s Switzerland defeated defending champions Britain to stay unbeaten in the men’s curling competition at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on Sunday.

The British rink, skipped by Bruce Mouat, pushed Switzerland to an extra end, but the Swiss held the hammer advantage. Last-stone thrower Benoit Schwarz-van Berkel delivered the निर्णng shot to secure a narrow 6-5 victory.

Switzerland now lead the standings with a perfect 5-0 record. Canada, skipped by Brad Jacobs, sit in second place after a 6-3 win over China for their fourth victory. Britain are third with four wins and two losses, having earlier defeated Germany 9-4 in the morning session.

During that match, Britain’s Bobby Lammie had a stone removed for a double-touch violation, an incident that came amid heightened officiating following Sweden’s accusations of cheating against Canada. The infraction, which occurred in the ninth end, had little impact on the final result. Governing body World Curling has since eased its stricter enforcement.

Sweden, led by Niklas Edin and gold medalists at the Beijing 2022 Olympics, struggled to adapt to the ice conditions at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. They fell 8-5 to a young United States team.

The Americans later secured a 10-8 win over Norway in the evening session. Norway had earlier beaten host nation Italy 10-7, while Italy rebounded with a 10-5 victory over the Czech Republic.

Swedish women stay perfect

While Sweden’s men continue to face challenges, the women’s team skipped by Anna Hasselborg remains dominant. They defeated Britain 10-7 to extend their unbeaten run to five matches and strengthen their hold at the top of the standings.

Denmark, led by Madeleine Dupont, claimed a 7-2 win over Italy, who conceded with two ends remaining. South Korea’s Gim Eun-ji sealed a 7-5 victory over Japan with the final shot of the match.

The United States, skipped by Tabitha Peterson, rallied from a 4-1 deficit at the halfway mark to edge China 6-5.

Teams will play nine matches in the round-robin stage, which continues Monday, with the top four advancing to next week’s semifinals. -Reporting by Aadi Nair; Editing by Clare Fallon and Ken Ferris/Reuters