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Winter Olympics 2026: GB glory in mixed team snowboard cross final, Brignone wins women’s giant slalom – live
🥇 Bankes and Nightingale lead Great Britain to gold in mixed team snowboard cross
Good start from Bankes and she knows she can reel Casta but there is a threat in third from Moioli … A little bobble from Casta and Bankes shifts into gold medal position … Can she stay in pole position into the final section? YES! GREAT BRITAIN WIN GOLD! Their first ever Olympic medal in this event!
Bankes is cool, calm as she crosses the finish line. Meanwhile, Nightingale has absolutely launched himself into the GB fans. Italy take silver and France with the bronze.
Key events
In Colombo, one of the classic matchups in word sport is building…
BBC have taken us to the curling, with Sweden now leading GB, who have the hammer, 7-3 playing the sixth.
I’m watching Mia Brookes in the qualifying of the women’s slopestyle. She fell first run and this is better, but her jumps aren’t working for her today; her score of 56.53 means she’ll not be qualifying for the final. She’ll be better for this experience, though, and at only 19, has plenty of time to improve and return.
On BBC, they’re talking about the impact that gold’ll have on boarding in the UK – and though, who knows, maybe that’ll turn up another gold medallist, it’s not really about that. Rather, it’s on the many people who’ll find a new joy to elevate their lives, which is what it’s all about.
We’re playing extra time at St Andrew’s. If neither Birmingham nor Leeds score in the next nine minutes or so, we’ll go to penalties.
Ah, from 3-3 to 6-3, Sweden, whose 100% leaves them top of the women’s curling pool, now lead GB. Elsewhere, Korea are up 3-2 on Japan and Denmark 4-1 on Italy and China 4-1 on USA.
Aha, Sean Ingle’s snap report is with us…
I can’t wait for our interviews, surely soon come.
The camaraderie between Bankes and Moioli is lovely to see. Those two have been racing each other a long time and are clearly delighted by each other’s success.
The union flag is raised – not on a suburban high street, which is a pleasant relief – and now it’s time for photos. I’d like to know where they’re going out tonight.
Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale climb up on to the podium, pump fists, and bow heads. Gold medals are lowered thereupon, and they’ve done it! The endeavour of a lifetime, realised in metal, and goodness only knows how the blithering [redacted] they’re feeling in this moment. Anthem time.
🥇Lisa Vittozzi of Italy wins gold in the women’s biathlon
Never in doubt, an incredible effort. Kirkeeide of Norway takes silver, Minkkinen of Finland bronze.
France accept their bronze, Italy the silver – we can assuage our regret at missing out on another rendition of Il Canto degli Italiani – and the moment is almost upon us.
Among the boarding community, there’s major excitement about, let me reiterate, GB’s first-ever gold medal in a snow sport. Jenny Jones, who won bronze in slopestyle at Sochi 2014, is close to tears, and here comes the medal ceremony!
Back to Bankes who is bank, she went out of the individual event at the quarter-final stage and was so disappointed. But now look!
Coming up: the quarter-final of the men’s speed skating team pursuit at 3pm, Canada v France in the men’s ice hockey and the women’s 500m speed skating final at 4.03pm.
In the women’s biathlon, Kirkeeide of Norway leads by 5.5s from Vittozzi of Italy, from Jeanmonnot of France, from Minkkinen of Finalnd.
In the women’s curling, GB and Sweden are level at 3-3 playing the fourth; GB are currently seventh in the standings, Sweden top.
Thanks Yara and what a time to return! What I loved about this, well obviously all of it, but when she completed the run, Charlotte Bankes was just so calm, like she’d done the most natural thing in the world, no more than was expected of her and she expected of herself. That’s GB’s first ever gold medal in a snow sport, and I can’t wait to hear from those who’ve brought it home.
Daniel Harris is back to take you through the reaction after that incredible race!
🥇 Bankes and Nightingale lead Great Britain to gold in mixed team snowboard cross
Good start from Bankes and she knows she can reel Casta but there is a threat in third from Moioli … A little bobble from Casta and Bankes shifts into gold medal position … Can she stay in pole position into the final section? YES! GREAT BRITAIN WIN GOLD! Their first ever Olympic medal in this event!
Bankes is cool, calm as she crosses the finish line. Meanwhile, Nightingale has absolutely launched himself into the GB fans. Italy take silver and France with the bronze.
Snowboard: Great start for Nightingale, he takes second but is pipped quickly by Lambert, but the Australian makes a mistake and Nightingale is back in second, and he puts GB into silver-medal position with France in first. Women are up next.
Snowboard: GB are in competition with France, Australia and Italy. Huw Nightingale is in gate four.
Snowboard: The small final has just finished. France finish fifth and Switzerland sixth after a photo-finish. Phew! Now onto the medals …
Snowboard: On to the mixed team cross final. Four teams, three medals. And with the way Great Britain have been racing, surely, surely they come away with something here.
🥇 Brignone wins second gold of Games in women’s giant slalom
What a fairytale story for the Italian as she comes home in first place with a time of 2:13.50.
From coming back from a serious injury right before the Games. It is a dram and the Italian crowd know it – they are going wild!
Snowboard: Bankes tucked up into second but here she comes, almost throwing off Castor of France and she speeds into first in the final straight. Wow! GB into the finals with a win in the semis. Great team effort!
Snowboard: Huw Nightingale has a great start and that is the best first section from him today. He settles into second behind France and finished 0.03sec behind. Switzerland get sagged and so Bankes will only be racing against two, realistically. Back at the top, Bankes is getting a new board set up.
Snowboard: Semi-finals here we go! GB’s Huw Nightingale and Charlotte Bankes are in the first one here alongside France, Switzerland and Australia.
Alpine skiing: Mikaela Shiffrin is next. Let’s see if she can improve on her 7th placed finish … she skis down well but her speed is conservative and she is 0.25sec behind the current leader, Lara Della Mea of Italy after a few really late turns. Sixth for now and off the podium. She waves to the supporters who will be rooting for her in the slalom in two days’ time.
Alpine skiing: Asja Zenere of Italy leads the second run after 12 racers in the women’s giant slalom second run.
Snowboard: Huw Nightingale loses ground in his race and finishes third, 1.09sec behind Canada’s Eliot Grondin. That gives Charlotte Bankes a lot of work to do.
But not a problem for her! She moves to the lead from the inside and then is stuck in second but at the final stretch she edges ahead of Australia’s Mia Clift. Bankes and Nightingale are through to the semi-finals. “British finally have something to cheer about in the snowboard cross,” says Ed Leigh on BBC Sport commentary.
Snowboard: The mixed team cross event has begun with Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale of Team GB in action. France 2 and Switzerland 1 take the first two spots to qualify for the semis.
GB up next!
Alpine skiing: On to the women’s giant slalom. Italy’s Federica Brignone is ahead by 0.34sec after the first of two runs. The 35-year-old already won gold in the super-G earlier at these Games and is competing after recovering from multiple leg fractures and a torn anterior cruciate ligament which she suffered last April.
Lena Duerr of Germany is second, 0.34sec behind and Brignone’s teammate Sofia Goggia is third.
Mikaela Shiffrin of the US, looking for her first Olympic medal in eight years, sits seventh, just over a second back. Shiffrin, the 2018 Olympic champion in this event, is trying to bounce back after a disappointing fourth place finish in the combined earlier in the Games, when her sluggish slalom run dropped Shiffrin and teammate and reigning Olympic downhill champion Breezy Johnson from first to fourth.
Shiffrin promised she would learn from her slalom run in the combined. While she was solid and never came close to danger, she also could not quite find the speed of the leaders. None of her four timing splits ranked in the top four among early competitors.
Summary of the day so far
If you’re just joining us, here is what has happened on day 9 so far:
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Johannes Høsflot Klæbo led Norway to victory in the men’s 4×7.5km cross-country relay to win a record ninth career Olympic gold. The 29-year-old has won four gold medals at these Games and is widely expected to take another two in the men’s team sprint and 50km classic race on Saturday.
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After a miserable start to the Olympics for the much-heralded Swedish biathlon team, Martin Ponsiluoma managed to shake off the dust with a perfect series of five shots on the final shoot and superb last lap to grab gold in the men’s 12.5km pursuit. The 30-year-old piled the pressure on the leader Emilien Jacquelin of France, who missed twice to incur two costly penalty loops and open the way to victory for the Swede.
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Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury won gold in the new Winter Olympics sport of dual moguls, claiming victory three days after narrowly missing a win in the single-format moguls. The 33-year-old Kingsbury, the oldest man racing in dual moguls, has claimed a medal in each of the four Olympics he has competed in. It was Canada’s first title of Milano Cortina.
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Bruce Mouat’s British men’s team picked up a 9-4 curling round-robin win over Germany, while Olympic champions Sweden suffered their fourth loss of the campaign to leave their title defence on the brink, losing to the United States 8-5.
Bobsleigh: The first two heats have finished in the women’s monobob. Germany’s Laura Nolte has a 0.22sec lead over Elana Meyers Taylor of the United States, with a combined time of 1:59.12. She has delivered the two cleanest runs by far, mastering this tricky track better than most.
The Beijing 2022 champion Kaillie Humphries Armbruster of Canada moved into a third in the second heat, followed by Switzerland’s Melanie Hasler and Kaysha Love of the US. Heats three and four are tomorrow.
🥇 Norway win cross-country skiing in the men’s 4 x 7.5km relay as Klæbo breaks gold medal record
Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo crosses the finish line well in first and he is surrounded by his teammates. He is the first Winter Olympian in history to win nine golds. And he still has a couple more events to go at this Olympics.
Klæbo surpasses the record that his compatriots Marit Bjørgen, Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Bjørn Daehlie, who all had eight golds before Milano Cortina.
Victor Lovera helps France win their first medal in this event to take silver and Italy’s Federico Pellegrino pips Finland to bronze.
Thanks Daniel and hello all. Klæbo’s extended his lead to about 21sec now. He is almost there …
Righto, I’m off for a break, but Yara El-Shaboury is here to call Klæbo home. What a ludicrous freak of nature he is; amazing behaviour.
Gosh, Lovera is indeed paying for the effort which halved the lead and, with a circuit to go, Klæbo is 19.5s ahead, his ninth gold medal so close he can almost feel it breaking. History has its eyes on him.
Klæbo continues, daintily skipping around a corner before focusing on forcing his way uphill; meantime, Rob Walker notes he’s two more events to come, so who even knows what sort of record he’s setting as he continues in pursuit of a ninth gold.
Heat two of the women’s monobob is over, Nolte of Germany leading overall. But with Meyers Taylor and Armbruster Humphries of USA just 0.22 and 0.31 behind, in second and third, tomorrow is on.
