Team, Men

Men’s curling at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games took place at the Cortina Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo from 11-21 February. It featured 46 athletes representing 10 nations in a round-robin format, with the top four teams advancing to the medal playoffs.

Legitimate gold-medal threats were Canada, Sweden, Great Britain and Switzerland, which arrived with experienced skips and recent World Championship success, while the United States and Norway were considered dangerous contenders capable of reaching the podium. Sweden’s Niklas Edin was the only skip in history to win three Olympic medals (2022 gold, 2018 silver, 2014 bronze) and seven World Championship titles (2013, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024). Canada was led by 2014 Olympic Champion Brad Jacobs, who was returning to the Olympics for the first time since that title which was also the last time Canada won Olympic gold.

Bruce Mouat of Great Britain arrived as a two-time World Champion (2023, 2025) and determined for gold after winning silver at Beijing 2022 (fourth in mixed doubles at MiCo 2026 with Jenn Dodds). Making his Olympic début was two-time World Championship medalist Yannick Schwaller from Switzerland (2025 silver, 2023 bronze), who had competed in the mixed doubles at MiCo 2026 first with his wife Briar Schwaller-Hurlimann, and was playing with his brother Kim Schwaller.

In the round-robin play, multiple games were decided by a single point, including a 6-5 extra-end win by Sweden over Canada and a 7-6 victory by Great Britain against Switzerland. Canada rebounded from an early 8-5 loss to Switzerland with key wins down the stretch, including a 9-4 result over the United States that kept them in playoff position. Norway had a narrow 5-4 win over Great Britain, while several teams entered the final day still mathematically alive.

In the semi-final match-ups, Great Britain upset undefeated Switzerland 8-5 after a late swing, and Canada edged Norway 5-4 in an extra end after a tight, defensive battle. In the gold medal game, Canada jumped out with steady scoring, trading points with Great Britain through the middle ends before pulling ahead with a big three-pointer in the ninth that swung momentum decisively. Jacobs led his rink of Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert to a 9-6 victory, to regain the title he won at Sochi 2014 and become the first men’s skip to capture two Olympic titles. It was the second gold medal for Kennedy and Hebert, who were part of the winning rink at Vancouver 2010, and a fourth men’s curling title in all for Team Canada. It was a second straight Olympic silver and more heartbreak for Mouats’ GB rink with Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie, and Hammy McMillan, who also lost in the final four years ago at Beijing 2022. In contrast, Switzerland thrashed Norway 9-1 to take the bronze by building an early lead and never looking back.

Team Sweden, skipped by Edin, one of the most decorated curlers of all-time and the defending Olympic Champion from 2022, struggled through the round-robin and did not advance to the playoff round, finishing with a losing record that left them outside the top four.

A controversy involved a double-touch dispute with Canada’s Marc Kennedy and Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson, who accused Kennedy of double-touching stones during his delivery, leading to a verbal altercation during which Kennedy told Eriksson to “f–k off” multiple times. Eriksson claimed there was video of Kennedy double-touching stones, which was later posted online by a member of the Swedish media.

In response to the controversy, World Curling stationed two umpires across the four sheets of ice to monitor all deliveries. The incident intensified debate about sportsmanship and consistency, an issue that had already drawn scrutiny during the Games.