Trying to tame the Olympic controversy, World Curling sent in the umps. Then it sent them away

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — The curling drama at the Winter Olympics sent the sport's governing body scrambling to address a growing controversy and curb conflicting accounts of rule-breaking. The backpedaling came less than 24 hours later.

A day after World Curling ramped up monitoring of the matches, it pulled the plug, saying umpires would retreat and be available on request but not by default.

The move came after a quick meeting between national curling federations and World Curling on Sunday in which curlers expressed dissatisfaction with the increased surveillance. Athletes wanted less monitoring, not more.

Why would Olympic curlers, playing a sport where mere centimeters can make the difference between a winning and losing stone, choose to send the umps away? The answer may have to do with the longstanding spirit of the game, which some athletes are clinging to even as it grows more popular — and professional.

“I think there’s a lot of pride in trying to be a sport that kind of officiates ourselves a little bit, so to speak,” said Nolan Thiessen, CEO of Curling Canada, whose teams have been at the heart of the uproar over the past several days. “I think it was just everybody taking a deep breath and going, OK, let’s just finish this Olympics the way we know our sport is to be played.”

The saga began Friday, when Sweden's Oskar Eriksson accused Canadian Marc Kennedy of breaking the rules by touching the rock again after initially releasing it down the sheet of ice. Kennedy's expletive-laden outburst drew widespread attention, as did the sport, which tends to fall off the radar outside the Olympics.

World Curling decided it needed to double down on game surveillance, even though it was already midway through the Olympic men’s and women’s round-robin competition.

From then on, the federation said, two umpires would step out from behind the courtside table and watch the “hog line” — the point at which curlers must release the granite stone down the sheet of ice — from close proximity. That way, they’d be able to more closely check for illegal double-touches.

In just a day, officials called two double-touch infractions, by Rachel Homan of Canada and Bobby Lammie of Britain, removing their stones from play.

It is rare for stones to be removed from competition so frequently.

By Sunday afternoon, players and coaches were fed up, and World Curling changed its policy after the meeting.

“When the players started complaining, it puts them in a tough position because they want to do their jobs and listen to the players that think that there’s a problem out there,” said Emma Miskew of Canada. “I’m happy with how the discussion went and what the ruling came to.”

Several Olympic curlers said that double-touching did not necessarily reveal a nefarious desire to cheat, and that penalizing a quick and accidental graze of the granite could be over the top.

“If you get a hog line violation, it’s not cheating,” Homan said Monday.

Miskew added that it was rare to hear the accusation, at least in women's curling, while Alina Paetz of Switzerland agreed with Homan that it is a minor infraction.

“If you do it, it’s not allowed, but I think they blew it up a little bit, so it’s a bigger thing than it actually is,” Paetz said. “It’s the Olympics, there’s emotion in it. I don’t think it is actually that big of a deal.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Sweden's Sara McManus, Agnes Knochenhauer and Sofia Scharback celebrate after beating Switzerland during a women's curling round robin match at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Canada's Emma Miskew prepares to deliver the stone during a women's curling round robin match against China at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Switzerland's Alina Paetz in action during the women's curling round robin session against Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Canada's Rachel Homan, Sarah Wilkes and Emma Miskew react after the women's curling round robin session against China at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

BORMIO, Italy (AP) — Atle Lie McGrath’s gold-medal hopes in the Olympic slalom slipped away. His ski poles were then thrown away. And then he simply stumbled away through the snow toward the woods.

It was all part of an epic Olympic meltdown that turned Monday's race into high-tragic theater.

“I thought that I would get some peace and quiet, which I didn’t,” the Norwegian ski racer said of his retreat from the course after losing out on a medal. “Because photographers and police found me out in the woods. But I just needed some time for myself.”

McGrath, who was born in Vermont but grew up in Norway, entered the final run of the final men’s race at the Milan Cortina Games with a big lead in his best event. But after straddling a gate, McGrath lost a medal and then control of his emotions in a race won by Loic Meillard of Switzerland.

The 25-year-old McGrath tossed each pole over the safety netting lining the Stelvio course. He then climbed the fencing on the other side of the course and made his way through the snow to the edge of the wilderness, where he laid on his back.

McGrath later arrived in the finish area and walked away without talking. More than two hours later, he met the media at a nearby Bormio hotel.

“I’m normally a guy that’s very good when it comes to perspective on things,” he said. “And if I don’t ski well in a race, I can at least tell myself that I’m healthy and my family’s healthy and the people I love are here. So that’s nice, but that’s not been the case. I’ve lost someone I love so much and that makes it really hard.”

McGrath has been racing with a heavy heart, with his grandfather dying the day of the opening ceremony. He wore an armband as a tribute.

“What he’s gone through these last 10, 12 days, it’s been really tough,” said teammate Timon Haugan, who finished fourth in Monday's race. “He’s been really sad. He started to do better and today he’s going through ... we need to really back him up today.”

McGrath was close to a medal, too. Very close. His mistake happened right in front of a Swiss coach standing on the course, whose celebration for Meillard’s now-guaranteed gold medal caused the team to later apologize to the Norwegians.

“I gave myself the absolute best opportunity you could today,” McGrath said. “I skied so great, and I still couldn’t get it done. So that’s what really hurts.”

Haugan felt for him.

“It’s just heartbreaking,” he said. “He's doing everything perfect. He did a very good first run, put himself in a position to win the Olympic gold. He does everything right and then that happens in 15 seconds."

Bronze medalist Henrik Kristoffersen, McGrath's Norwegian teammate, knows the feeling. Kristoffersen was leading the slalom at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games only to ski out in the second run.

“In the end, it’s another ski race. In the end, it’s not going to make or break Atle's career,” Kristoffersen said. "He is a great skier. If he keeps going like he’s going, he will have great success for the future. This is just our sport.

“That’s how it goes sometimes. I’ve been in this exact same position, and done the same thing (skied out). And yes, it hurts. But it is what it is.”

The emotional outburst?

“That's allowed,” Kristoffersen said. “This is sports. What are sports without the emotions?”

Meillard echoed that thought. It's a fickle discipline, where a racer weaves through a tight course set.

“The beauty of slalom is that when it works out it’s beautiful," Meillard said. "I was definitely sorry for him, but at the end, all the times he won when I skied out — that’s part of the game.”

For McGrath, there won't be anymore alone time.

“I spent my time in the woods,” McGrath said with a laugh. "So now I’m going to spend time with the people I love and that’s all I need.

“I think I need quite a bit of time to process this and it’s going to be extremely tough. We’ll see how it goes, but at least I’m surrounded by great people who love me and who I love. I’m at least happy that they’ll be here.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Norway's Atle Lie McGrath walks off the course after skiing out during an alpine ski, men's slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Norway's Atle Lie McGrath arrives at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Norway's Atle Lie McGrath walks off the course after skiing out during an alpine ski, men's slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Norway's Atle Lie McGrath walks off the course after skiing out during an alpine ski, men's slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/John Locher)