GB go for men's curling gold and Atkin in halfpipe final - Saturday's guide

GB go for men's curling gold and Atkin in halfpipe final - Saturday's guide
Winter Olympics daily guide graphic
[BBC]

The 25th Winter Olympics will feature almost 3,000 athletes from 90 countries competing for 116 medals at Milan-Cortina.

Team GB have sent 53 athletes to the Games with plenty of medal potential.

Here is your guide to what is happening each day and who to look out for.

All times GMT.

Day 15: Saturday, 21 February

Medals: 10

Medal events: Mixed team aerials (09:45-11:35); Men's ski cross (09:00-12:40); Men's cross-country 50km mass start (10:00-13:05); Mixed ski mountaineering relay (12:30-13:50); Women's biathlon 12.5km mass start (13:15-14:15); Men's and women's speed skating mass start (14:00-17:00); Women's ski halfpipe (18:30-20:20); Women's two-woman bobsleigh (18:00-21:10); Men's curling (1805-2135).

Daily highlights

Freestyle skiing: Men's ski cross final (09:00-12:35)

Beijing champion Ryan Regez suffered a torn ACL followed by a loss of form but his world title win last year shows he is now back to his best.

His biggest threat could be Canada's Reece Howden, who has won the World Cup title in both of the past two years.

Bobsleigh: Two-woman heats three and four (18:00 & 20:03)

Germany's Laura Nolte won this event in 2022 aged 23, becoming the youngest female pilot to take gold.

Since then, she and brakewoman Deborah Levi have been a model of consistency on the World Cup circuit and they lead after the first two runs on Friday.

The USA's Kaillie Humphries won this event in 2010 and 2014 and is 0.23secs behind in third after the opening day.

German duo Lisa Buckwitz and Neele Schuten are second.

Zoe Atkin smiles after a run
Atkin was ninth in the event at Beijing 2022 [Getty Images]

Curling: Men's gold-medal game - Great Britain v Canada (18:05-21:20)

Bruce Mouat and his rink have guaranteed Team GB's fourth medal of these Winter Olympics after seeing off unbeaten Switzerland 8-5 in their semi-final.

The British quartet - who are the reigning world champions - will face Canada in Saturday's final looking to upgrade the silver medal they won four years ago in Beijing.

Gold would be Britain's first in Olympic men's curling since 1924.

The women's curling bronze medal match between the USA and and Canada starts at 13:05 GMT.

Freestyle skiing: Women's halfpipe final (18:30-20:05)

Can Britain's Zoe Atkin dethrone China's Eileen Gu as the Olympic champion?

The US-born 21-year-old is the reigning world champion and qualified in first place.

But she will be up against a stacked field, including China's Li Fanghui who qualified in second. She was Atkin's biggest rival last season and the skier with whom she shared the overall 2024-25 World Cup title.

Good to know

As well as the conclusion of the two-woman event, the opening two heats of the four-man bobsleigh take place (09:00 and 10:57).

Germany – particularly pilot Francesco Friedrich – have monopolised major titles in recent years but the British crew driven by Brad Hall also have podium aspirations.

The most gruelling event in the Winter Olympics is cross country skiing's 50km mass start (10:00).

The men's medals will be decided on Saturday and current world champion Johannes Hosflot Klaebo is the red hot favourite. Team GB's Andrew Musgrave is competing in his fifth Winter Olympics and has recorded a fifth and sixth place these Games already.

Day 16: Sunday, 22 February

Medals: Four

Medal events: Men's four-man bobsleigh (09:00-12:20); Women's cross-country 50km mass start (09:00-12:35); Women's curling (12:05-13:35); Men's ice hockey (12:40-15:40)

Daily highlights

Bobsleigh: Four-man heats three and four (09:00 & 11:12)

History beckons for German great Francesco Friedrich on the final day of the Games.

The 35-year-old arrived in Italy with four Olympic titles so, depending on how he fared in the earlier two-man event, he will be vying to become the first athlete to win five or even six bobsleigh golds.

His biggest rival may be Germany's second crew, headed by Johannes Lochner, but Team GB could also be in podium contention, with the sled piloted by Brad Hall having recorded encouraging results occasionally at the top level.

Finland celebrate winning gold at Beijing 2022
Finland celebrate after beating the Russian Olympic Committee team 2-1 in the final in Beijing [Getty Images]

Curling: Women's gold medal game - Switzerland v Sweden (10:05-13:20)

Switzerland got the better of the United States on Friday afternoon, while Sweden beat Canada to book their place in the final.

The Swiss are guaranteed their first women's medal since 2006, but are yet to win gold.

Sweden were champions in Pyeongchang in 2018 and claimed bronze four years ago.

Ice hockey: Men's gold medal game - Canada v USA (13:10)

Canada have claimed a record nine Olympic golds and the return of NHL players is a boost to their chances as they look for their first gold since 2014.

That also applies to the USA, who haven't won the title since 1980's 'Miracle on Ice'.

Good to know

With all events completed, at 19:00 it's time for the Closing Ceremony of the XXV Winter Olympic Games, which will take place in the iconic Arena, a Roman amphitheatre in the historic city of Verona.

Milan Cortina will say arrivederci and perform the traditional handover to the team from the French Alps, where the 2030 Games will be held.