British curling duo Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat have extended an open invitation to McLaren’s Lando Norris to swap the track for the rink, after watching the Formula One world champion struggle with a miniature version of their sport.

In a video shared by McLaren on social media on Friday, Norris tried his hand at ’baby curling’ with little success, prompting Formula One fan Dodds to offer some professional guidance.

“Lando Norris, you can come and try curling up in Scotland at the NCA (National Curling Academy) anytime,” Dodds said after their win over Canada’s Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman. “There’s loads of great coaches up there. We can get you on ice and you don’t need to do baby curling, you can do actual curling.”

Briton Norris joked in the video about having advice for Britain’s curlers, an offer which Mouat was still happy to take, adding: “Lando, if you have any tips, please give them to us! He said he had a couple of tips but I think he was joking obviously. But Jen’s a massive fan. She has like McLaren tops and all, like she’s a proper fan!”

Mouat and Dodds have had an incredible start to their mixed doubles curling campaign at the Milano Cortina Olympics, winning their first six matches to put themselves on the verge of qualifying for the semi-finals. Reuters

Medal ceremony: The first gold medal of the Games is put round the neck of men’s downhill winner Franjo van Allmen and the Swiss national anthem plays in Bormio. It’s his first Olympic medal, aged 24. Giovanni Franzoni gets silver and Dominik Paris bronze – both of Italy.

Ice hockey: Germany’s women are giving Japan a bit of a hiding in Group B – they’re 4-0 up in the second period thanks to goals from Daria Gleissner, Emily Nix and two from Nicola Hadraschek. Germany themselves were well beaten, 4-1 by Sweden, in their opener while Japan edged France 3-2.

The Women’s 10km+10km Skiathlon has got under way in Tesero, with World Cup leader Jessie Diggins of the USA involved in a bit of a crash a few minutes into the race – she’s moving back up through the field as we speak. There are plenty of Swedes and Norwegians in the leading pack. It’ll be another half an hour before this one starts to come to a climax.

Thanks Barry. Let’s keep this rolling.

Men’s downhill: The glory is Franjo von Allmen’s but it’s a poignant moment for the Italian team with Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris in the medals. No doubt they will be thinking of Matteo Franzoso, their teammate who died aged 25 last year after a training crash in Chile. Franzoni was close to Franzoso and dedicated his first World Cup win last month to him.

Italy had won just three medals in the men’s downhill since 1948 – now they’ve added two more. Switzerland will have to lick their wounds, with Marco Odermatt, considered the favourite for gold by many, finishing outside the podium,

Handover: After all that excitement, I’m off for a break but will leave you in the capable hands of Billy Munday for the next couple of hours.

‘Penisgate’ update: Norwegian ski jumpers greeted with scepticism suggestions that anti-doping officials must now police their anatomy as well as their equipment after regulators said they would stay alert to rumors of athletes artificially enlarging their genitals to exploit suit rules at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

The World Anti- Doping Agency signaled it would watch for evidence of manipulation following reports raised fears of some male ski jumpers attempting to manipulate the 3D body-scanning measurements used to size competition suits by temporarily enlarging their penises. Skiing’s governing body also dismissed talk of competitors injecting paraffin or hyaluronic acid for aerodynamic gain.

For many of the Norwegian ski jumpers, talk of a creative attempt to gain extra inches in their jumps was met with skepticism and head-shaking, with several dismissing it as a gimmick and hearsay. “I do not think we need that kind of attention, and on the women’s side we are quite calm about the subject,” Norway women’s coach Christian Meyer said. “I have not seen anything like it, so I am also wondering whether it is true. I actually do not believe it, but if someone is that sick ...“

Ski jumper Anna Odine Stroem said the controversy reflected poorly on the sport. “If it takes something like this to get people watching ski jumping, I do not know what to think. It is sad that we need controversy for people to find our sport endearing or exciting,” she said. “That is not something we want in our sport,” Johann Andre Forfang added, while fellow Norwegian Kristoffer Eriksen Sundal suggested the spotlight would be better directed elsewhere.“All interest is good interest, but I wish it came more from what is happening on the hills,” Sundal said. Reuters

Norovirus news: Members of Switzerland’s women’s ice hockey team have been placed in isolation after one player tested positive for norovirus, hours before they were set to play the defending Olympic champions Canada. The game against Canada on Saturday will go ahead as scheduled, a Swiss spokesperson said.

Switzerland beat the Czech Republic in a thrilling shootout 4-3 on Friday. Switzerland said that the positive test came after that game and that the isolation measures were taken as a precaution. Canada were forced to postpone their opening game against Finland on Thursday after several Finnish players also fell ill with norovirus. That game has been rescheduled for 12 February. Reuters

Women’s Downhill: Lindsey Vonn has completed another successful downhill training run at the Milan Cortina Olympicsthis morning after tearing the ACL in her left knee last week. The 41-year-old American crossed the line in third position, 0.37 seconds behind leader and teammate Breezy Johnson.

Vonn is preparing to race the downhill on Sunday with a large brace covering her injured knee. She had a partial titanium replacement inserted in her right knee in 2024 and then returned to ski racing last season after nearly six years of retirement. She crashed during the final World Cup downhill before the Olympics.

Curling mixed doubles: Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds have further strengthened their position in the curling mixed doubles with a sixth win in the round-robin stage of the competition, which should be enough to earn them a berth in the semi-finals with three matches to spare.

Mouat and Dodds beat Canada 7-5 with an end to spare this morning, maintaining their perfect record so far in Cortina. They face the only other unbeaten side in the competition, the American pair of Corey Thiesse and Korey Dropkin, this afternoon.

Men’s Downhill: With just 11 lower ranked competitors left to take their chance, Swiss racer Franjo von Allmen leads and is on the brink of winning the first gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games. On a picture-perfect day in Bormio. Von Allmen powered through the challenging course in 1min 51.61sec.

His time was good enough to withstand the charge of Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni, who is in silver-medal position. Franzoni’s teammate, Dominik Paris, had a fast run to take over third and knock Marco Odermatt of Switzerland off the podium.

Men’s Downhill: One athlete after another tries to beat Franjo von Allmen’s time but none of them are getting close and most of the Big Guns have already taken their chance. The time to beat remains 1min 51.61sec. Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris are currently in second and third place respectively.

Women’s Freeski Slopestyle qualifying: While qualifying continues, Team GB’s Kirsty Muir has booked her place among the 12 women who will contest Monday’s final with a score of 64.98, the third best of the day so far. China’s Eileen Gu will also be in the final despite a disastrous first run this morning that earned her a score of 1.26.

Men’s Downhill provisional standings

1. Franjo von Allmen (Switzerland) 1min 51.61sec

2. Giovanni Franzoni (Italy) +0.20

3. Dominik Paris (Italy) +0.50

Men’s Downhill: The top three are separated by 0.5 of a second as one competitor after another hurtles down what is ostensibly a horizontal sheet of ice at speeds of up to 90 miles per hour. At one point, Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni took off and flew over 50 metres through the Italian morning sky before his skis touched the ground again. It is phenomenal, truly terrifying sport.

Men’s Downhill: Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni punches the air as he skis into the silver medal position, knocking Switzerland’s Monney down to third. Next up, Italy’s Domink Paris, another pre-race favourite, pushes Marco Odematt out of the medals to go into third.

Men’s Downhill: We have an all-Swiss podium as things stand. Marco Odermatt, onre of the race favourites, beat his compatriot Monney’s time to go top of the standings but has since been unseated by Franjo von Allmen. His time of 1min 51.61sec is the one to beat.

Curling mixed doubles: Despite a late wobble, Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat have competed their sixth consecutive win in the round robin stage of this competition, seeing off Canada 7-5. They will fac e the USA later today.

Men’s Downhill: Switzerland’s Alexis Monney pulls out all the stops to move into the gold medal position with a time of 1min 2.36sec, hitting a top speed of 87 miles per hour as he flew down the Selvio. Austria’s Daniel Hmetsberger is in second place, 0.22sec behind, while Canada’s Jack Crawford is 0.64sec behind in the bronze medal position.

Women’s Freeski Slopestyle qualifying: Having eaten snow in the very early stages of her first run, China’s Eileen Gu recovers to post a score of 75.30 to move into second place and bump Team GB’s Katy Muir down into third place with her second outing to come.

Men’s Downhill: To the fearsome Selvio piste, where only the bravest will duke it out for the first gold medal of these Games. A total of 35 men are taking to the gates on an incredibly steep, southern facing slope that rewards those who push to the very limit of their capabilities and courage. Austria’s Daniel Hemetsberger is first down the mountain, setting a time of 1min 52.58sec.

The longest course in the four alpine skiing disciplines, competitors in the downhill get just one run down the mountain. France’s Max Muzaton comes a cropper on his run down the mountain but is mercifully unhurt. In the leader’s chair, Hemetsberger points to an impressive shiner, sustained when he lost his helmet during a crash in training on Thursday.

Women’s freeski slopestyle: Competing at the Winter Olympics just two months after rupturing her ACL, Australian freeskier Daisy Thomas was ruled out of her first event after crashing at training. She has also qualified for the women’s freeski big air event which begins on 14 February and remains hopeful of taking part.

Opening ceremony: The US vice-president, JD Vance, was greeted by a chorus of boos when he appeared at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milan on Friday, although American viewers watching NBC’s coverage would have been unaware of the reception, writes Tom Lutz …

Opening ceremony: Andea Varnier, the official Milano Cortina 2026 spokesperson, is speaking at the daily press conference. “We believe we have achieved the biggest number of tickets sold for an Opening ceremony, with 61,221 tickets sold, and another 10,000 people watched remotely,” he says.

The IOC’s verdict is delivered by Games’ director Christophe Dubi: “The feeling I had was how elegant and beautiful the imagery was but how profoundly Italian and universal that ceremony was,” he says. “Values are universal, right? Goosebumps.”

Gallery: Roll up, roll up for the very best of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony in pictures …

Curling mixed doubles: We’re in the sixth end and Team GB have extended their lead over Canada to 7-2. Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat are quite literally sweeping all before them in the round robin stages of this comepetition and heading for their sixth consecutive victory.

Women’s Freeski Slopestyle qualifying: The big news from Livigno Snow Park is that China’s Eileen Gu, a triple medallist at the last Games in Beijing, took a tumble on the first very rail of the course. As qualification for slopestyle hinges on the best of two runs she’ll get a chance to redeem herself but the nerves will be jangling. Among the favourites for this competition, Team GB’s Kirsty Muir, 21, finished her first run with a score of 63.18, which puts her in second place.

Curling mixed doubles: Team GB are currently in action against Canada and having won their opening five matches before today, Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds are not so much knocking on the door to a place in the semi-finals as battering it down. They lead 5-2 against Canada at the break, with matches against the United States (today), Switzerland and defending champions Italy (tomorrow) to come.

The Opening Ceremony: The showpiece to kick off the Games happened across multiple venues but politics and protests were also present, writes Bryan Armen Graham.

The Briefing

Women’s Downhill: Lindsey Vonn passed a key test of her damaged knee on Friday as she completed her first downhill training run, keeping alive her hopes of a fourth Olympic meda. Skiing with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, the American clocked a time of 1min 40.33sec in her first official run in Cortina d’Ampezzo, and simply responded “yeah” when asked if “all good” by reporters.

The training was delayed for more than an hour owing to fog hanging over the Olimpia delle Tofane piste and Vonn entertained her teammates by singing along to some Usher. The Swiss team, including the reigning downhill Olympic champion Corinne Suter, passed the time by playing Yahtzee.

Italy’s Federica Brignone was the first to get all the way down the piste, with a time of 1:40.66, as she goes for a first Olympic gold after coming back from a double leg break just in time to compete.

“Some things were good, some things so-so,” Brignone said. “I’m trying to recover my leg because after skiing it’s always swollen and painful. I’m also working on my confidence because I’m still missing it.”

Curling Mixed Doubles: Jennifer Dodds said she and her partner Bruce Mouat had produced their best performances yet as the duo recorded another two wins in Friday’s round-robin matches in the mixed doubles curling competition. The pair beat Sweden 7-4 before a comprehensive 8-2 defeat of South Korea, with an end to spare in both games. “We said yesterday there were a couple of things we wanted to work on,” said Dodds. “We came out today and executed exactly what we wanted to do.”

The Team GB pair were also in a buoyant move after the American rapper Snoop Dogg asked for a photo. “We walked past and we were just kind of like ‘there’s Snoop Dogg’, a bit starstruck and we got ushered back,” said Dodds. “They said ‘he wants a selfie with you’ and we said ‘OK’. So, if Snoop Dogg’s team is reading this, can we please get the photo?”

Snoop Dogg, who was wearing a jacket that featured photos of the USA’s Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin, is an honorary coach for the team and took to the ice himself to have a try at sweeping a stone.

Lizzy Yarnold: There is a huge buzz for the Games that are the pinnacle for the athletes but competing through illness and injury is all part of the test, writes the former Team GB skeleton star who won gold medals at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics.

The Briefing: Lovingly compiled, direct to your inbox and running throughout the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, sign up for our superb guide to the day’s highlights and the best that is yet to come.