The images of house cleaning come into my mind when watching this :P
Curling is a big game in Winter Olympic. The attracting points of the game is to watch the polished granite stones rushing and how sweeper make them stop right in the circular target marked on the ice.
Here comes the question: why the curlers need to sweep? It may be easy to understand that they are helping the stones moving to the right direction. But how?
AP Photo
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The curler can induce a curved path by causing the stone to slowly turn as it slides, and the path of the rock may be further influenced by two sweepers with brooms who accompany it as it slides down the sheet, using the brooms to alter the state of the ice in front of the stone. Sweeping a rock makes it curl less, and decreases the friction that slows the rock down.
Getty Images
Getty Images
A great deal of strategy and teamwork go into choosing the ideal path and placement of a stone for each situation, and the skills of the curlers determine the degree to which the stone will achieve the desired result. This
Curling is a sport that requires not only strength but also wisdom, which gives it a nickname of "chess on ice".
AP Photo
The broom used on the ice rink looks similar to those used in our daily housework. But the sport broom is more high-quality. It is generally made of synthetic bristles or horse bristles, worth about $2,000, which is equivalent to about 50 household brooms.
VAL GARDENA, Italy (AP) — Marco Odermatt found moments of clarity on a foggy day in the Italian Dolomites to race to victory in a World Cup downhill on Thursday.
A 50th career World Cup win for the Swiss generational talent — matching Italian slalom great Alberto Tomba on the all-time men's list — came 50 days before the opening ceremony of the Milan Cortina Olympics where Odermatt shapes to be a star.
“It’s a crazy number," Odermatt said. “I had an incredible season start with a fifth victory already. But I’m not a guy who looks too far ahead.”
Odermatt rode the bumps and rolls on a shortened version of the Saslong course to finish 0.15 seconds faster than Franjo von Allmen, the reigning world champion. Italian veteran Dominik Paris was third, trailing by 0.19.
Sunshine lit the bottom half of the course where Odermatt, wearing bib No. 14, was decisively fast to win a race that started 75 minutes late because of fog shrouding the top of the course.
There was a short delay for fog minutes after No. 6 starter Von Allmen set the fastest time and touched 129 kph (80 mph).
Odermatt acknowledged seeing his Swiss teammate's time was “tough to beat. I started a little bit faster and those hundredths were exactly the difference.”
There was a longer stoppage for fog once the top-ranked racers completed their runs, then the race was interrupted again when No. 45 starter Fredrik Moeller had to be airlifted from the course. He crashed hard on his back while setting a fast time that matched Odermatt.
Minutes later, using the improving light, No. 47 starter Nils Alphand threatened a shock by leading at halfway. He placed fifth, just 0.27 back.
Victory extended Odermatt’s already big lead in the overall standings chasing a fifth straight title. He also won the season-opening downhill two weeks ago at Beaver Creek, Colorado.
A 1-2 result for Switzerland’s top speed racers is routine in World Cup downhills. Odermatt twice won last season with Von Allmen as runner-up, including at Val Gardena, and Odermatt was second in each of Von Allmen’s two World Cup wins.
Odermatt reached 50 World Cup wins at age 28 and tied Tomba for fourth on the men's all-time list.
Ingmar Stenmark, the Swedish slalom and giant slalom great from the 1970s and ’80s, leads the men with 86 wins. The wins record was extended to 105 by Mikaela Shiffrin winning a slalom on Tuesday at Courchevel, France.
Thursday’s race replaced a downhill canceled by the weather this month at Beaver Creek. Val Gardena stages a super-G on Friday then the classic Saslong race on Saturday over the full downhill distance.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Norway's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde during the course inspection ahead of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Val Gardena, Italy, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Luciano Bisi)
France's Nils Alphand at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Val Gardena, Italy, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen competes during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Val Gardena, Italy, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Val Gardena, Italy, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Luciano Bisi)
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Val Gardena, Italy, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
