Winter Olympics Chaos as Event Called Off and Athletes Forced Into Quarantine
The 2026 Winter Olympics has suffered another early setback after a shaky start to the Games in Milan-Cortina.
The world's greatest winter sports athletes have descended on northern Italy this week for the biggest event in their calendar.
While the opening ceremony for the 2026 Olympics takes place on Friday, events are already underway - having started with the mixed doubles curling on Wednesday.
Things certainly didn't go to plan in the opening event, with the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d’Ampezzo suffering a power outage just five minutes after the action had started.
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There has now been another unexpected disruption to the Olympic schedule, with a women's ice hockey match postponed due to a viral outbreak.
Thursday's fixture between Finland and defending Olympic champions Canada in Group A was due to take place at Rho Arena but was called off just hours before the scheduled start time.
It has now been delayed by a week because of an outbreak of illness in the Finnish squad and will instead take place on February 12.
The Sun report that the decision was made after only 10 Finnish players were able to attend a morning skate.
Finnish national broadcaster Yle report that four players suffered stomach problems overnight, with officials believing they had been suffering from norovirus.
Six players have now been placed into quarantine to prevent the illness from spreading through the Olympic village.
A Games organiser said that no cases have yet been reported from other teams.
They told The Sun: "A small number of athletes from the same delegation have reported symptoms of illness.
"They are being supported by Milano Cortina 2026 medical teams and, in line with established medical protocols, have been asked to isolate as a precaution while the nature of the illness is assessed.
"At this stage, and based on the information available to medical services, the cases are limited to athletes from a single delegation.
"No cases have been reported among athletes from other delegations."
Olli Salo, the Finnish Ice Hockey Association's sports director, said that the postponement of the match was "very great news" for the Finnish team.
Salo also stated that the situation in Finland's camp had improved.
"I'm not a doctor, but of course I've been going over the matter with a doctor all the time. What I can say is that we're getting better all the time," he added.
Finland are expected to challenge for the medals in Italy, having won bronze at the last Olympics. The USA are viewed as favourites for the gold, along with neighbouring Canada.
The Finns are due to face the US, the Czech Republic and Switzerland in the preliminary round, with their game against the American team scheduled for Saturday. It is not yet clear if that match will go ahead as planned.
The Olympics in Milan-Cortina will be staged over two-and-a-half weeks, with the closing ceremony taking place on February 22.
Topics: Ice Hockey, Olympics
Rory O'Callaghan