All eyes are on the Fiera Milano Rho Curling Centre in Milan, Italy, as the men’s and women’s curling finals at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics promise to deliver a historic “Super Saturday” for Team GB and the global curling community. The anticipation is palpable with both the British men’s curling team, led by Bruce Mouat, and ski halfpipe sensation Zoe Atkin set to compete for gold, potentially sealing Great Britain’s best-ever Winter Olympic medal haul.
The journey to this dramatic finale has been nothing short of a rollercoaster for Mouat and his Scottish quartet. Entering the tournament as reigning world and European champions, the British men’s team faced adversity early, losing four of their first five group matches. Their Olympic dreams looked to be slipping away until a crucial twist of fate: Switzerland, undefeated in the group stage, defeated hosts Italy in the last round-robin game, allowing Team GB to sneak into the semifinals.
“Honestly, it has been the most incredible week, it's not gone all our way and knew that this morning we might not be playing again,” Mouat told TNT Sports. “So, so many emotions have happened today in one day and it's a wee bit overwhelming in the moment to realise that we had won.”
Momentum is everything in curling, a sport steeped in tradition and tension. Mouat’s squad—Grant Hardie, Hammy McMillan, and Bobby Lammie—channeled their nerves and experience to face Switzerland in the semifinals. Switzerland, having swept all nine group games and even bested Great Britain along the way, looked unbeatable. Yet, in a game that swung back and forth, Mouat’s rink stole a point in the sixth end and executed a clutch shot in the eighth to grab two more. Entering the final end with a slender 6-5 lead and Switzerland holding the hammer, the British team boxed their rivals in, forcing a nervy last throw. When the dust settled, it was Great Britain lying shot and sealing their place in the gold medal match with a dramatic 7-6 win.
Hammy McMillan summed up the challenge ahead: “It's going to be a tough game. We beat them in the semi-final of the World Championships in Moose Jaw there. We have played them a lot of times. It's going to be a battle. I guess on paper this week, they've been the second-best team behind Switzerland. So we, again, know we've got to bring the performance we gave in the last four or five ends we've brought there, for 10 ends. We haven't probably quite had a full A-plus 10-end game yet. So time to bring it on Saturday.”
The men’s final against Canada marks the first time since 1924 that a British men’s squad has competed for curling gold at the Olympics. For Mouat and his teammates, it’s a shot at redemption after claiming silver at the Beijing 2022 Games. Their journey echoes the legendary gold-medal runs of Rhona Martin in Salt Lake City 2002 and Eve Muirhead in Beijing 2022, both of whom overcame adversity to deliver for Team GB when it mattered most.
Meanwhile, the women’s curling final features a classic rivalry as Team Switzerland faces Team Sweden. The Swiss, led by skipper Alina Patz, advanced to the gold medal match after dispatching the USA 7-4 in the semifinals. Their opponents, Sweden, are skippered by the experienced Anna Hasselborg, who guided her team past Canada in a tense semifinal showdown. This matchup is more than just a contest for gold; it’s a rematch of the 2006 final in Turin, where Sweden bested Switzerland. The Swiss will be hungry for revenge, hoping to flip the script two decades later.
Women’s curling has grown exponentially since its official Olympic debut at Nagano 1998. Canada captured the first gold, while Sweden has since established itself as a powerhouse, winning titles in 2006, 2010, and 2018. Great Britain, the reigning champions after Eve Muirhead’s 10-3 triumph over Japan in Beijing, fell short of defending their title this year, but their legacy continues to inspire the next generation.
The Olympic curling format demands both strategy and nerve. Played on a 150-foot-long sheet, teams of four slide granite stones toward the house, aiming to finish closest to the button after ten ends. Only the top four teams from the round-robin advance to the semifinals, and from there, it’s a battle of wits and precision for the podium.
As the final day of competition dawns, Chef de Mission Eve Muirhead has her sights set on making history. “I’m really looking forward to ‘Super Saturday’,” Muirhead told the Press Association. “I think it’s important that we keep the momentum. We want to finish the Games on a high. One thing I came out here to do was make sure we had the same energy from start to finish and we’ll make sure we are doing that tomorrow.”
Should Mouat’s men and Atkin both clinch gold, Team GB would match their best-ever Winter Olympics medal haul of five, a record set in both 2014 and 2018. Already, the Games have seen British athletes excel: skeleton star Matt Weston captured gold in both the solo and mixed team events, while Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale soared to victory in the mixed team snowboard cross at Livigno Snow Park. Atkin, fresh off a win at the Aspen X Games, outperformed Chinese superstar Eileen Gu to qualify first for the ski halfpipe final.
With the medals table typically ordered by number of golds, victories for Mouat and Atkin could elevate Great Britain alongside traditional Winter Olympic giants like Austria, Japan, and China. The excitement is further amplified by the fact that all curling events are being held at the state-of-the-art Fiera Milano Rho Curling Centre, a venue that has hosted international championships and now stands at the heart of the Olympic drama.
For fans in the UK, every moment of Milano Cortina 2026 is available on TNT Sports via discovery+, with over 850 hours of live coverage ensuring no stone is left unturned. The stage is set for a day of high drama, legacy-defining performances, and perhaps, a rewriting of the British sporting record books.
As the world tunes in, curling’s unique blend of strategy, skill, and suspense is on full display. Will Team GB rise to the occasion and etch their names in Olympic history? The final stones are yet to be thrown, and the outcome hangs in the balance as “Super Saturday” unfolds in Milan and Livigno.