It hosted Olympic hockey in 1956 and James Bond a quarter-century later. Cortina’s beloved Olympic Stadium is now bursting with excitement for curling.

Day 9 of the 2026 Winter Olympics didn't bring any new medals for the United States, but there were several major team wins of note to keep the Americans in position to add to that count in the coming days.

A controversy brewed on Friday when Sweden’s men’s curling team accused Canada’s Marc Kennedy of breaking rules for how he was throwing the rock down the ice. But what are those rules? And what are the Canadians being accused of?

Both the Canadian women's and men's teams were accused of double-touching the stone while in motion, resulting in some spicy exchanges.

Until Friday, the American women had never beaten Canada -- a perennial favorite that has medaled in every Winter Games since curling was added to the Olympics in 1998. The U.S. men beat the Canadians for the first time in the 2018 round-robin and again in the semifinals en route to their gold medal victory in Pyeongchang.

The 2026 Winter Olympics, featuring 16 sports with 116 medal events, will take place from Feb. 4 to Feb. 22 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Preliminary events will begin on Feb. 4, the opening ceremony will be Feb.

If confronted in the heat of competition, an athlete may genuinely believe no violation occurred. Add identity to the equation – “I am a clean competitor” – and denial becomes a psychological defence rather than deception. Under Olympic pressure, the nervous system prioritizes protection over reflection.