Curling competition got underway at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Wednesday night, with the first matches kicking off in Cortina, Italy. However, play was temporarily halted due to a brief power outage that plunged the historic curling stadium into darkness.
Fans were initially caught off guard when the lights flickered and then went out, but they quickly responded by cheering as the bright lights came back on and competition resumed. The outage lasted for approximately three minutes, which is roughly half of the length of a curling match.
The power issue was attributed to an "energy-related issue" that affected the main stadium as well as the media center in the nearby area. The start of the opening luge training session for men's singles was also delayed by half an hour due to the brief interruption.
Curlers, including American athlete Korey Dropkin, were prepared to continue playing despite the unexpected power outage. "Being amongst the best, it's a very cool atmosphere to be part of," said Dropkin, who is competing in his first Olympics and described the experience as "cool".
Mixed doubles curling was among the events that got underway on opening night, featuring teams with one woman and one man facing off against each other. The competition took place in front of a large crowd of fans from around the world, many of whom were waving flags for their respective countries.
One attendee, Bernard Benoit from Canada, traveled from Ontario to root for his home team and expressed his enthusiasm for the sport, calling it "a mix of athleticism and intellect" and a strategy game. Another fan, Stephanie Kahn from the United States, was working as a volunteer at the curling center and said she was eager to learn more about the sport.
The competition in mixed doubles will continue on Thursday, with teams such as Italian duo Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner defending their world and Olympic titles. The event is part of the round-robin stage of the Olympics, which takes place before the medal ceremony.
Fans were initially caught off guard when the lights flickered and then went out, but they quickly responded by cheering as the bright lights came back on and competition resumed. The outage lasted for approximately three minutes, which is roughly half of the length of a curling match.
The power issue was attributed to an "energy-related issue" that affected the main stadium as well as the media center in the nearby area. The start of the opening luge training session for men's singles was also delayed by half an hour due to the brief interruption.
Curlers, including American athlete Korey Dropkin, were prepared to continue playing despite the unexpected power outage. "Being amongst the best, it's a very cool atmosphere to be part of," said Dropkin, who is competing in his first Olympics and described the experience as "cool".
Mixed doubles curling was among the events that got underway on opening night, featuring teams with one woman and one man facing off against each other. The competition took place in front of a large crowd of fans from around the world, many of whom were waving flags for their respective countries.
One attendee, Bernard Benoit from Canada, traveled from Ontario to root for his home team and expressed his enthusiasm for the sport, calling it "a mix of athleticism and intellect" and a strategy game. Another fan, Stephanie Kahn from the United States, was working as a volunteer at the curling center and said she was eager to learn more about the sport.
The competition in mixed doubles will continue on Thursday, with teams such as Italian duo Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner defending their world and Olympic titles. The event is part of the round-robin stage of the Olympics, which takes place before the medal ceremony.
Like, I get it accidents happen but cant they do something to prevent this kinda thing from happening in the middle of the games?! 
But you know what's cool? The fans are so chill about it, cheering and all when the lights come back on. That's some awesome sportsmanship right there 
! I'm actually kinda excited for the mixed doubles competition now, seems like a fun event. And I love how enthusiastic Bernie is, "a mix of athleticism and intellect" sounds like a pretty cool combo to me 
.
like who expects that to happen mid match? i'm surprised no one got hurt 
anyway it's all good that everyone was chill about it and cheered when the lights came back on 
so does anyone know how they fix energy-related issues like that in stadiums? 
mixed doubles curling is kinda cool, i mean who wouldn't want to see a guy and girl team up against each other? but what's with all the energy-related issues, gotta make sure everything is running smoothly for the big event 
The fact that the interruption lasted for roughly half the length of a curling match makes you wonder about the underlying infrastructure and energy management systems in place. 
It's also heartening to see fans like Bernard Benoit expressing their passion for the sport, calling it "a mix of athleticism and intellect". This sentiment underscores the appeal of sports as a means of entertainment and social connection. 
and we're still stuck watching grandma's knitting club 
! I mean, can you imagine being in that stadium with no lights? It's like, what do you even do? 
But seriously, it's impressive how quickly everyone just adapted and kept playing. And the atmosphere must be so electric with all those fans cheering them on 
! I'm not really a curling fan myself (I know, I know 
), but it sounds like an amazing experience to be part of this competition. The fact that teams are defending their world and Olympic titles makes it even more special... Interesting! 
. Can't they even get that right? It's not like it's the first time this has happened, I'm sure it'll happen again too 
. And meanwhile, these athletes are out there giving it their all and then suddenly everyone's like "oops, power's out" 
. I mean, what kind of security measures do they have in place? It's just a recipe for disaster...
? Sounds like a cover-up to me! Anyway, on the bright side, the curlers seemed pretty chill about it, and I guess it was cool for them to get some practice in 
.
anyway its cool that dropkin described the atmosphere as "cool" 
️. i can imagine how intense and focus-demanding curling is, so you gotta feel for them when something like that happens 
. Hope everything goes smoothly from now on! 
️
- @techsavvy22
. I mean, think about it - a power outage in the middle of the curling competition could've totally derailed the mood, but instead the fans just lit up (literally and figuratively) and cheered everyone back on. That's what I call resilience & community spirit 
! And can we talk about how awesome it is that even amidst the chaos, people like Bernard Benoit are stoked to be part of this incredible experience? It's a reminder that life's full of ups and downs, but with friends by your side (or in this case, curling buddies 
), you can handle anything that comes your way!
. the fans being all cool about it though is definitely a plus 
. can't wait to see how Stefania and Amos do in their defense of their titles 
But for real, the power outage was kinda annoying 
. And hey, at least the fans were stoked to see some action go down despite the hiccup 
. Now let's get back to curling! 
to help visualize the strategy 
with rocks flying everywhere 
but it's actually kinda smart because you gotta anticipate your opponent's move 
it's like when you're in the middle of a convo and someone suddenly loses their wifi signal