Langenhan smashes records to claim Olympic luge gold as Sweden, Britain shine across Winter Games

Double world champion Max Langenhan delivered a dominant performance to win men’s luge singles gold on Sunday (8 February), breaking the track record four consecutive times as Germany extended its grip on the sport, now winning four of the past five Olympic titles.

Langenhan set the tone on Saturday with two track records, including the opening run, before returning on Sunday to push the limits even further. First out in the third run, he clocked a blistering 52.705 seconds, then capped his performance with a fourth straight record of 52.660 seconds in the final run to seal a commanding victory.

Austria’s Jonas Mueller took silver, more than half a second adrift, while Italy’s Dominik Fischnaller claimed bronze, repeating his podium finish from four years ago.

Despite not winning a World Cup race this season, Langenhan’s consistency, combined with back-to-back world titles, underlined his ability to peak at major championships.

Sweden cruise into women’s ice hockey quarter-finals

Elsewhere, Sweden secured qualification for the women’s ice hockey quarter-finals with a commanding 4–0 win over France in Group B at the Milano Rho Arena.

Goals from Thea Johansson, Sara Hjalmarsson and Hanna Thuvik inside the opening period put the Swedes firmly in control, before Lisa Johansson added a fourth early in the second.

Thea Johansson opened the scoring in the fourth minute and now leads the tournament scoring charts with four goals. Sweden sit top of Group B with a perfect nine points, while France remain bottom after three defeats.

Britain top mixed doubles curling round-robin

In mixed doubles curling, Olympic champions Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat of Great Britain secured top spot in the round-robin standings with a hard-fought win over hosts Italy at the Cortina Olympic Curling Centre.

Italy briefly surged ahead after a three-point sixth end, sparked by Amos Mosaner, but Britain responded calmly, scoring four points across the final two ends to prevail despite loud home support.

The United States edged Sweden 8–7 in a tense encounter, while Switzerland’s loss to Norway ensured both Italy and Sweden advanced to the semi-finals alongside Britain and the U.S.

Britain finish the round-robin with eight wins from nine matches, followed by the U.S., Italy and Sweden. Semi-finals take place Monday evening, with medal matches scheduled for Tuesday.

Canada struggle despite curling pedigree

Canada’s Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant suffered a fifth consecutive defeat, losing 9–5 to South Korea, after winning their opening three matches. Despite Canada’s historic strength in curling — including gold at the 2018 PyeongChang Games — the team will again miss out on medals in the mixed doubles format.

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