Winter Olympics: Team GB stunned by hosts after disastrous opening blunder
Team GB’s men fell to a 9-7 defeat against hosts Italy at the 2026 Winter Olympics after a calamitous first end saw them concede four shots.
Bruce Mouat’s rink arrived at the Cortina Curling Stadium boasting a perfect record.
They had previously dispatched defending champions Sweden, but this encounter proved a different beast entirely.
A nightmare start in Cortina
The match began in the worst possible fashion for the world’s top-ranked side.
An aggressive attempt to score two with the final stone backfired spectacularly.
An unfortunate kiss on a red stone cleared the house, allowing Italy to steal four points to the delight of a raucous home crowd.
Horns and bells rang out around the venue as the Scottish quartet were left staring at a scoreboard reading 4-0.
The horrified expressions on the British players’ faces told the story of a gamble gone wrong.
Resilience from the world number ones
Despite the horror start, the British outfit displayed the resilience of world champions.
Slowly but surely, they chipped away at the Italian lead.
A masterful shot from skip Mouat, verified by a measurement compass, helped claw back two points in the third end.
Ferocious sweeping from Hammy McMillan and Bobby Lammie then forced a steal, narrowing the gap to a single point by the break.
Remarkably, the visitors roared back to level proceedings in the ninth end, silencing the wooden bleachers.
Hosts hold their nerve
However, the fairytale comeback was denied in the tenth and final end.
Italy, who had also beaten the Swedes, held firm to secure the two points needed for victory.
“We had to dig deep and we played nine really good ends and controlled it from there, but we just couldn’t do enough to get the win,” lead Hammy McMillan told BBC Sport.
The result leaves Team GB with two wins from three round-robin matches.
Seven victories are usually required to guarantee a semi-final berth, keeping Mouat’s side in a strong position.
The men return to the ice on Saturday to face the Czech Republic at 13:05 GMT.