The Canada vs Norway match has now finished as well and the Norwegians held on to secure an 8-6 victory that sends them through to the semi-finals. It also confirms the semi-final match-ups...

Great Britain will play table-topping, unbeaten Switzerland in their semi-final, knowing a win would guarantee a medal. When the teams faced off in the round robin stage, it went to an extra end and the Swiss prevailed, triumphing 6-5. Will it be that close again?

The other semi-final sees a rematch of this morning’s clash between Canada and Norway.

Both those semi-finals will take place at 6.05pm GMT this evening, so Bruce Mouat’s rink have just over seven hours to prepare.

Team GB’s men’s curling team kept their hopes of defending or improving their silver medal from Beijing alive as they scraped into the semi-finals - but only because other results went their way.

Bruce Mouat’s rink looked on the verge of defeat on Wednesday but thrashed the USA 9-2 to underline their status as one of the best teams in the world, despite their relative underperformance in Cortina d’Ampezzo.

That result was not enough to book their place in the last four, as they required either Italy or Norway to lose both of their final two round-robin games in order to progress.

Both lost on Wednesday but Team GB endured a nervous wait on Thursday as Norway stormed to a 7-2 lead over already-qualified Canada before being pegged back, while Italy kept unbeaten Switzerland honest in a tense encounter.

However, Italy lost 9-5 after skip Joel Retornaz missed a chance to score three in the eighth end with a poor penultimate stone which put paid to their chances.

And there it is! Switzerland take two in the ninth end to beat Italy 9-5 and that means Bruce Mouat’s British rink will qualify for the semi-finals!

It was nervy at points during the round robin stage but they’ve made it through and they’ll play that semi-final this evening

Heavy snowfall in Livigno on Thursday morning forced the postponement of Olympic men's ski halfpipe qualifying and men's aerials, further disrupting the competition schedule.

More than half a foot of snow blanketed the mountain town, delaying the men's halfpipe event. A new start time is yet to be decided, while men's aerials has been moved to Friday.

Women's halfpipe qualifying, featuring defending champion Eileen Gu, remains on schedule for Thursday evening.

Weather conditions are expected to improve for Friday and Saturday, the final two days of action.

Italy scramble two in the eighth end to close the deficit to 7-5 against Switzerland after eighth ends but the Swiss will have the hammer. It’s looking grim for the Italians but great for GB.

Italy actually had a chance to score three in that end but skip Joel Retornaz played a poor penultimate stone to squander that opportunity

That is huge for GB. A lovely final-stone takeout from Switzerland skip Benoit Schwarz-van Berkel in the seventh earns his side three and they now lead Italy 7-3!

Remember, if Italy lose, then GB will go into the semi-finals. The Italians have a huge mountain ahead now.

Canada have also hit back against Norway and now only trail 7-6 after seven ends. Could that provide an insurance policy for Bruce Mouat and co?

Hmmmm. That’s not great for GB. Italy work hard to earn two in the sixth end and they’ve closed the gap against Switzerland to 4-3. That game is going to go to the wire.

GB edging closer to the semi-finals as Switzerland take one in the fifth end to extend their lead to Italy over 4-1. Norway are demolishing Canada 7-2, so GB will be praying Switzerland can hold on against the Italians.

It’s still on track for GB in the men’s curling with Switzerland in control against Italy - leading 3-1 through four ends. The Swiss have the hammer in the fifth as well.

It’s looking like that result will need to come in because Norway have gone off like a train in their clash with Canada, leading 5-1 after three ends.

Remember, GB need either Italy or Norway to lose in order to sneak into the semi-finals.

Away from the curling, a new Olympic event gets underway today.

Compared (in a non-complimentary way) to breakdancing, with athletes said to be “running like hamsters”, welcome to ski mountaineering – a fast and furious sport.

Allow Flo Clifford to tell you the story of how it has all come about: