Highlights from a German perspective on the 13th day of the competition? In short supply! Instead of podium places, there were falls, false starts, disappointments on Thursday (February 19, 2026) – and a few bright spots. The most important decisions of the day at a glance.
German curlers say goodbye with victory
Getting into the semi-finals was no longer possible before the game against China began, but Germany’s curlers still showed their skills once again in the last game of the round robin. Skip Marc Muskatewitz’s team deservedly defeated the Chinese selection 6:4 on Thursday morning and said goodbye to northern Italy with a sense of achievement. With four wins and five defeats, the German curlers ended up in seventh place in the table.
Ski mountaineering: Paller’s race to catch up unrewarded
She climbed the Olympic mountain in a hurry, but she is still not allowed to climb the podium. German ski mountaineer Tatjana Paller narrowly missed out on a mountaineering medal on Thursday. The 30-year-old reached the finish line in fourth place, with victory going to the Swiss Marianne Fatton. Emily Harrop from France and Spain’s Ana Alonso Rodriguez complete the podium. Bitter: Paller overslept the start a bit, but after the race she was sure that this false start didn’t cost her the medal.
NoKo: Rydzek/Geiger fall past the winner’s podium
How bitter was that: The combined athletes Johannes Rydzek and Vinzenz Geiger missed a medal after a dramatic fall in the last competition of the Winter Games. The DSV duo led after jumping. The lead on the cross-country ski run disappeared and when Beijing Olympic champion Geiger fell twice, the competition pulled away. For the first time since 1998, the former “dominators” remained without a medal at the Winter Games. Gold went to Norway.
Ice hockey: crime thriller with a happy ending for Switzerland
Thriller in the women’s ice hockey duel for bronze: In the end, Switzerland celebrated a 2-1 win in overtime against Sweden. Alina Müller scored 51 seconds before the end. Switzerland cheered to the heavens, Sweden was served accordingly.
Speed skating: Sonnekalb is running behind again
Finn Sonnekalb from Erfurt took part in the 1,000 meter race weakened by a cold and clearly missed the medal he had hoped for. The great German hope also had no chance over 1,500 meters. Gold favorite Jordan Stolz also had to digest a defeat. He had to give gold to the Chinese Ning Zhongyan.
7 p.m.: Figure skating – women’s free skate
In a gold dress and with a lot of fire for Olympic victory: World champion Alysa Liu won figure skating gold in a high-class free skate and crowned her comeback. In the Milano Ice Skating Arena, where the men’s favorite Ilia Malinin completely crashed out last Friday, the American won with 226.79 points ahead of the Japanese Kaori Sakamoto (224.90) and Ami Nakai (219.16).
7:10 p.m Ice hockey finals USA vs. Canada
The US women are ice hockey Olympic champions for the third time. The USA won against Canada with record player Marie-Philip Poulin 2-1 (0-0, 0-1, 1-0) after extra time. In the eternal final duel between the arch-rivals, US icon Hilary Knight shot the US team into extra time two minutes before the end of the game, where Megan Keller shot in the fifth minute of overtime. Switzerland had previously won bronze after beating Sweden 2-1 after extra time.