Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds were unable to become Team GB's first mixed doubles medallist in the curling on Day 4 of Milano Cortina 2026.
The pair agonisingly lost 5-3 to home hopes Italy in the bronze-medal match as they suffered the same fate as in 2022.
Elsewhere, Jacques Jefferies and Matéo Jeannesson made their Olympic debuts in biathlon and freestyle skiing, respectively.
Curling
Team GB's Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds were chasing history in the curling, but came up just short against the defending champions Italy.
The pair were 3-1 down at the halfway stage but were always in touching distance, as the game went into the final end with Italy leading 4-3.
Crucially, the hosts had the hammer in the final end and played the power play to see them come up trumps.
Both Mouat and Dodds will now join up with their men's and women's teams respecitvely with the former back in action tomorrow.
“So close, but so far," Dodds said. "It hurts the same as four years ago.
“That is the nature of mixed doubles. The standard is getting higher and higher, and I think it's just going to continue to do that.
“We'll chat about things tonight, probably be upset and then regroup. We've got tomorrow, we've got practice and draw a line on it tonight and then get back into the men's and women's games before tomorrow.”
History repeats itself to leave Mouat and Dodds gutted
Freestyle skiing
Makayla Gerken Schofield and Matéo Jeannesson both get a second chance at reaching the moguls final after finishing 18th and 28th, respectively, in qualifying.
"I'm super happy, I really enjoyed myself out there, and I was kind of focused on just having fun and trying not to focus too much on results because I know I can get wrapped in my head quite a lot," Gerken Schofield said.
"[Qualification 2] is just part of it. I'm grateful to actually have it because we don't normally."
Meanwhile, Matéo Jeannesson is ready to correct the mistakes he made on his Olympic debut.
The 21-year-old said: "I'm going to try and clean up the mistake I made, that top air exit, and then hopefully the light is a bit better and I can really push it more on that second qualification."
Read more from Gerken Schofield and Jeannesson here Biathlon
Jacques Jefferies battled to 79th place in the men's 20km individual in the biathlon, and like Jeannesson, he knows what he has to work on come the sprint after being left dissatisfied with the skiing portion of his race.
Jefferies was making his debut for Team GB, and spoke about the strong feelings he felt as he began his Olympic career.
"There were lots of emotions just then," he said. "When you go around and see the Olympic rings, then you realise that this is the highest level that you can compete in, and it was absolutely amazing. I'm happy to be here.
"When you come out of the start gate and see 15,000 people in the grandstand, it's a really special experience."
Short Track Speed Skating
Niall Treacy was on the wrong side of the craziness of short track speed skating as he got his second Olympic campaign underway.
Competing in his favoured 1000m event, Treacy was brought down by Canada's Steven Dubois in their heat to see both fail to progress.
It was ruled to be shared responsibility between the pair meaning there was no reprieve for the Henley-in-Arden skater.
He said: "It's the Olympic Games, you don't want to be pushed around when it gets like this stage, definitely (not) in these early races.
"We both went for a move. Maybe he thought that he had more speed, but I felt like he was a little bit too tight and a little bit too late on the overtake."
Crash denies Treacy in short track opener over 1000m
Cross-country skiing
James Clugnet finished 45th in the men's classic sprint, having opened up the qualification.
It means he set off into a cauldron of noise and anticipation but was still able to hear one of his closest supporters.
"I usually hate to start first in the World Cup because you get extra pressure with all the crowd screaming but it was awesome," he said.
"Even though there was everyone screaming I just heard my mum's voice saying 'go on James' which was pretty cool and a bit of extra motivation. It is still a special day and I am so happy to be able to start here.
Anna Pryce had earlier missed out on the quarter-finals in the women's event, but her 32nd-place finish was Great Britain's best result in the discipline.