A norovirus outbreak forces the postponement of a key women’s ice hockey match as the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics prepare for its opening ceremony.
PREPARATIONS for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics intensified on the eve of Friday’s opening ceremony, but the start of the ice hockey competition was immediately disrupted by a norovirus outbreak.
The first day of the women’s ice hockey tournament suffered a setback when the game between defending champions Canada and Finland was postponed. The Milano Cortina 2026 Organising Committee said the decision followed medical consultations after cases of norovirus were identified within Team Finland.
Italian media reported that four Finnish players had contracted the highly contagious virus. The game has been rescheduled for February 12, while other women’s matches proceeded as planned.
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The most geographically dispersed Games in history will officially begin with a ceremony at Milan’s San Siro stadium. The event will also incorporate the three other competition sites spread across the Dolomites.
US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Milan to attend the ceremony. Performances by singer Mariah Carey and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli are scheduled features.
Away from the ice, men’s downhill skiers completed a second training session on the formidable Stelvio piste in Bormio. They will compete for gold there on Saturday in the first major competitive highlight of the Games.
The biggest star of these Olympics, American skier Lindsey Vonn, faces a delayed start to her comeback bid. The first women’s downhill training session in Cortina d’Ampezzo was cancelled due to heavy snow.
Vonn’s Olympic return at age 41 depends on her ability to ski with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. Meanwhile, Greenpeace activists staged a protest in Milan against the Games’ sponsorship by energy giant Eni.
Bearing banners reading “Kick polluters out of the Games”, activists placed a model of oil-covered Olympic rings in front of the city’s cathedral. Greenpeace Italia stated that such sponsorships serve as a distraction from the planetary damage caused by fossil fuel companies.
The International Olympic Committee confirmed it had received a petition with 21,000 signatures calling for an end to fossil fuel sponsorship in winter sports. IOC president Kirsty Coventry said conversations were ongoing to improve stakeholder practices.
Vance visited American athletes, urging them to unite the country through their performances. He told Team USA members that the entire nation was cheering for them and hoped they would win as many medals as possible.
The build-up to the Games has also seen controversy over the presence of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in an advisory role. The Italian government has denied these agents will have any operational authority on its soil.
Italy also announced it had thwarted a series of Russian cyberattacks targeting the Olympics. A Russian hacker group claimed responsibility, citing Italy’s support for Ukraine as the motive. – AFP
