Top Olympic men’s and women’s curling storylines to watch

The Olympic medallists in mixed doubles curling were decided over the last couple of days, and Canada was on the outside looking in after the wife-and-husband duo of Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant finished outside the playoff picture at 4-5. 

The result is a disappointment, but it was always going to be a tall task in a solid field; Peterman and Gallant finished off the podium at the most recent world championships, too, finishing sixth. 

It’s now onto the women’s and men’s four-person competition, where Canada’s world No. 1 Rachel Homan, Tracy Fleury and the front end of Emma Miskew and Sarah Wilkes are the favourites in the women’s field, and Great Britain’s Bruce Mouat comes in with the No. 1 ranking on the men’s side.

Gallant will get another shot at a medal because he plays second for the veteran Canadian men’s team skipped by Brad Jacobs. It’s a second Olympics for Jacobs and Gallant, a third for lead Ben Hebert, and an incredible fifth for third Marc Kennedy. Jacobs, Kennedy and Hebert all own Olympic gold medals already, while Gallant won bronze with Brad Gushue four years ago. 

Not since 2014 have Canada’s men’s and women’s team been on the Olympic podium, when this country became the first to sweep curling at the Winter Games. Jacobs skipped that men’s team, too. 

As play gets underway on Wednesday, with Canada’s Jacobs up against Germany, and Homan and Co. taking on Denmark on Thursday, here are a few storylines to keep an eye on.   

Third time the charm for Homan? 

Homan and Miskew represented Canada eight years ago and their women’s team failed to make the playoffs, and then, in 2022, Homan played mixed doubles alongside John Morris and again didn’t make it past round-robin play.

Team Canada’s Homan were reigning world champions the last time they were on this stage, too, but this version of the team is not only far more experienced, but they’ve taken dominance to a new level in the sport. 

The two-time reigning world champions won three of the last five Grand Slams to bring Homan and Miskew’s total to an incredible 20, the most Grand Slams won by any curler. An Olympic medal is the only thing missing from Homan and Miskew’s incredible collection, and four years ago the team added Fleury — a former skip — to work toward this moment.  

The aptly named Homan Empire, led by the 36-year-old skipper, will be tough to beat, and no doubt Homan is motivated to win her first Olympic hardware. 

She and Miskew have been waiting a long time for this opportunity, and they’re considered favourites for good reason.

Silvana’s swan song?  

A four-time world champion, Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland is also competing in her third Olympics, and looking for her first medal on this biggest stage. 

And Tirinzoni’s team, which features Alina Paetz throwing fourth stones, is trending in the right direction heading into Cortina. They made all five Grand Slam finals, and won the last two. 

At the recent Players Championship, the 46-year-old Tirinzoni also revealed it might be her last Grand Slam, so you have to think this could be her final shot at an Olympic medal.

Sweden’s Edin on the big stage 

No skipper in men’s history has more Olympic hardware than Sweden’s Niklas Edin, who won bronze in his debut, silver four years later and gold in 2022. 

The reigning Olympic champion is also a seven-time world champion — that’s another record. Edin, 40, delivers on big stages, and though his team of Oskar Eriksson at third, and the front end of Rasmus Wrana and Christoffer Sundgren are ranked 12^th in the world and didn’t crack the semifinal of the most recent world championships, they usually have a knack for performing when the lights are brightest.   

Mouat knocked Team Edin out of contention at world championships, but the Swedes beat Mouat in route to the 2025 European title. 

Mouat’s moment?

The 31-year-old from Edinburgh won Olympic silver four years ago, losing to Edin in the final. Mouat, Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan Jr. have since won a pair of world titles. 

They also won back-to-back Grand Slams this season —the Co-Op Tour Challenge in October, and the KIOTI GSOC in Nevada in November. 

Mouat opens the men’s competition with a good feel for the ice, too. Like Gallant, he competed in mixed doubles. Mouat and Jen Dodds had the best record in the round-robin, but went on to lose in the bronze medal game against the hosts from Italy, who are the reigning Olympic and world champions. 

Can Jacobs do it again?

The last time Canada won Olympic gold in the men’s event, the skipper at the helm was Jacobs. The 40-year-old from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont, won gold 12 years ago on a team that included his cousins, the Harnden brothers, E.J. and Ryan, along with Ryan Fry.  

On the men’s side, no skip has won two Olympic gold medals. And while the field is tough and Kennedy says he’d be happy if they played their best and won a medal of any colour, the third laughs and points out that for his teammates: “I think it might be gold or bust.” 

“I’ll tell you what, having been to a couple Olympics, the only thing on my mind is I want to go out and have a good performance,” Kennedy added. “I want us to play our A-game, which is a really high level game.” 

Back in 2018, Kennedy was on the team skipped by Kevin Koe, and they lost in the semifinals to the Americans. “We never did play our A-game,” he said. “That leaves more of a sour taste in my mouth than not winning a medal does.” 

Curb your expectations, sports fans

Canada is sending formidable teams to represent this country, but given the depth of field, the expectation is no longer double gold or bust — even if that’s what both teams are gunning for. On the men’s side, this country hasn’t won a world championship since 2017, and Canada is ranked third in the field, behind Mouat and Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller. 

Homan won the last two world titles, but Switzerland’s Tirinzoni and Co. won four straight before that.

Canada has won just one curling medal in a four-person event over the last two Winter Games — Brad Gushue’s bronze in 2022. On the women’s side, the last two team Olympic results were sixth (Homan) and fifth for the team led by Jennifer Jones.

“The expectation should be a medal,” said Canada’s men’s team coach, Jeff Stoughton. “Get a medal, everyone should be really pumped up and proud.”