Winter Olympics 2026: GB men win curling semi-final and Alysa Liu’s skating gold – as it happened

But before I go, here are a couple of reports:GB edge thriller in men’s curling semi-final:USA stun Canada in overtime to claim gold in women’s ice hockey:That’ll do from me. What a night of Olympic action. Here’s a quick round-up:GB beat Switzerland 8-5 in men’s curling to progress to gold medal match on Saturday. They’ll play Canada who edged Norway 5-4.USA beat Canada 2-1 in overtime to win gold in women’s ice hockey

Britain’s curlers guarantee a medal as Mouat holds his nerve against Swiss

Call it the Cortina Comeback. At nine o’clock on Thursday morning, Great Britain’s men’s curling team didn’t even know whether they would be in the Olympic semi-finals. By nine o’clock on Thursday night, they had won themselves a place in Saturday’s final against Canada by beating the undefeated Swiss team 8-5.The British, who scraped through the round robin only because the Italian team lost their last group stage game to the Swiss on Thursday morning, had promised that they would be an entirely different proposition if they got to the knockout rounds, and they were as good as their word.“An emotional rollercoaster is probably the way to describe this whole week, never mind just that game,” said Hammy McMillan

Hull KR on top of the world after resisting thrilling Brisbane fightback

Rugby league is never short on incredible stories but even by the sport’s lofty standards, Hull KR’s rise to the greatest club side in the game feels too far-fetched for even the greatest of Hollywood script-writers.For 40 years, Hull KR have not just been in the shadows in this rugby league-obsessed city, second fiddle to their bitter rivals whose home they filled to be crowned world champions for the very first time, they have been in the sport’s entire wilderness. Until now.At the turn of the century, there very nearly wasn’t even a Hull KR. Crippled by financial ruin and with crowds barely exceeding 1,000 on occasions as they languished in the second and third tiers, the notion of nights like these ever becoming a reality was nothing other than impossible for a club suffocated by the grip of failure

USA roar back from brink to beat Canada in overtime and claim Olympic women’s ice hockey gold

Rescued from the brink of defeat by a deft touch from their captain in her final Olympics, the US beat Canada in Milan on Thursday to claim the women’s ice hockey gold medal.Hilary Knight got engaged this week to the American speed skater, Brittany Bowe, and the 36-year-old now has another reason to celebrate. Out-fought and out-thought by their great rivals for much of this contest, the Americans were poised to lose to a team they had thumped 5-0 in the preliminary round only nine days earlier.ScheduleAll times Eastern.Thu 5 Feb USA 5-1 CzechiaSat 7 Feb USA 5-0 FinlandMon 9 Feb Switzerland 0-5 USATue 10 Feb Canada 0-5 USAFri 13 Feb Quarter-final: USA 6-0 Italy Mon 16 Feb Semi-final: USA 5-0 SwedenThu 19 Feb Final: USA 2-1 Canada (OT) Roster breakdownThe 2026 US Olympic women's ice hockey team features 23 players, 13 forwards, seven defenders and three goaltenders, and boasts 21 returnees from the 2025 US women's national team that took home gold at the 2025 IIHF Women's World Championship in April

Winter Olympics women’s ice hockey final: USA beat Canada 2-1 in overtime – as it happened

And the report from tonight’s game can be found here:Not enough overtime action for you. Norway has taken the Canadian curling men to an extra end!Maybe I’ll watch that now. Time to sign off from here, but there’s still a little bit of curling and a good bit of figure skating to follow today and a big three-day weekend ahead. We might even see the USA v Canada on the hockey ice again for another final on Sunday, this time in the men’s game.Thanks for the emails

Itoje warns against ‘corrosive’ social media after racist abuse of Edogbo

The England captain, Maro Itoje, has warned of the corrosive effect of social media on professional athletes and wider society before the crucial Six Nations encounter with Ireland on Saturday.Itoje will win his 100th England cap at Twickenham in what has become a must-win game for the hosts after last weekend’s deflating defeat by Scotland at Murrayfield. The buildup has been marred by racist abuse on social media of the Ireland second row Edwin Edogbo, after the 23-year-old made his debut from the replacements’ bench in their win against Italy in round two.Itoje said the abuse of Edogbo was “incredibly sad” and spelled out the danger of the online world, explaining why he believes the wider damage it is causing will become clear. “Social media has been a force for good in many ways but it’s also been a force for negativity in a lot of other ways,” Itoje said