Two veterans of Estonia's Olympic team are to carry the national flag at the Winter Games opening in Milan-Cortina, Italy, on Friday.

Thanks to a thrilling 7-6 Italy victory over USA in the last round robin match on Monday morning, those same two teams – ranked second and third – will battle again at the 1956 Olympic Stadio olimpico del ghiaccio, renamed the Cortina Olympic Curling Stadium.

When Estonia’s Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill stepped onto the ice for the first round-robin session of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, they made history as the first Estonian curlers ever to appear at an Olympic Games.

Canada's mixed curling team continues to struggle. Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant of Chestermere, Alta., fell 8-6 to Estonia on Saturday, their third straight loss at the Olympic tournament.

Follow NBC News live updates for the latest on the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, where the curling events will open ahead of the opening ceremony.

It was unclear what caused the brief blip as players joked and killed time before the lights came on and action resumed.

U.S. speed skaters Erin Jackson and Brittany Bowe will begin their quest to repeat as medalists in this year's Winter Olympics with the women's 1000m on Monday. Jackson won gold in the 500m in 2022, while Bowe won bronze in 2022 (1000) and 2018 (team pursuit).

From medals to mascots, schedules to slopes—here’s everything you need to know to be ready for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

Here are the top five things to watch Sunday (on the Italian side):

Americans who top the podium at the Milan Cortina Games will be in line for a $37,500 bonus. Their competitors could collect as much as $800,000.

Evan Bates and Madison Chock closed today's events with a boost to Team USA's score, earning the team 10 points in their ice dance free dance event. As of now, the Japanese figure skating team ranks second with 39 points, and Italy trails closely behind with 37 points.