With the intensity of Olympic competition heating up in Milano Cortina, the mixed doubles curling tournament has delivered no shortage of drama, heartbreak, and history-making moments. As Sunday’s action wrapped up, the United States celebrated a breakthrough while Canada found itself on the ropes, their playoff dreams dangling by the thinnest of threads.
For Team Canada’s Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, the afternoon brought another nail-biter—but one that ended in disappointment. Facing Sweden’s sibling duo, Isabella and Rasmus Wranå, the Canadians battled fiercely but ultimately fell 7-6 in a game that could haunt them if they miss the playoffs. This loss marked the fourth straight defeat for Peterman and Gallant, dropping their record to 3-4 and pushing them down to sixth place in the standings. Only the top four teams will advance, and with just two games left in round-robin play, the margin for error has vanished.
“We have to reset and come out firing tonight,” Gallant said, his frustration tinged with hope after the loss. “I thought we played a hell of a game this afternoon so that is a good sign. We obviously need two wins and a little bit of help.”
It was a contest that saw momentum swing back and forth. Sweden jumped out to an early lead, stealing two points in the first end thanks to pinpoint draws by Isabella Wranå—impressive for her Olympic debut. Canada, showing resilience, quickly answered. After a tough outing against Estonia the previous day, Peterman bounced back, delivering a quiet-weight hit for two points in the second end to tie things up. That shot, coming after she shot just 17 percent on hits in Saturday’s loss, was a much-needed confidence boost.
The Swedes edged ahead in the third, but Canada responded in the fourth. Peterman slid a perfectly weighted draw to the button, outmaneuvering four Swedish stones and keeping the scoreboard level. Both teams traded tactical blows, but it was in the sixth end that Canada, donning their black uniforms for the first time in the tournament, seemed to seize control. Gallant executed a flawless freeze at the back of the button, then Peterman threaded her final stone through a narrow port to score two. Suddenly, Canada had a 5-4 lead—and a glimmer of hope.
But curling, as ever, can be cruel. Sweden called their power play in the seventh, and the Wranås capitalized. Isabella Wranå kicked out Peterman’s last-rock freeze attempt, clearing the way for a three-point end that swung the game back in Sweden’s favor, 7-5. Heading into the eighth, Canada needed a big finish. They had an outside chance for three points, but a desperate triple runback attempt failed to connect, and the Swedes escaped with the win.
“I thought we played a great game,” Peterman reflected, focusing on the positives in the aftermath. “We had a good debrief last night and chatted about how we wanted to make adjustments to our throws and how we were communicating and how to get the most out of the ice conditions. I thought we did that today. We were close on everything.”
Elsewhere in the standings, Great Britain’s Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat continued to set the pace, improving to 7-1 and becoming the first team to clinch a semifinal spot. Italy and the United States, both at 5-2, along with Sweden at 5-3 and Switzerland at 4-3, are all in the thick of the playoff race. Korea and Norway are both 2-5, while Estonia and Czechia bring up the rear at 2-6.
For Canada, the path to the playoffs is now a tightrope walk. They’re set to face Korea in Sunday evening’s draw—a must-win scenario—before wrapping up round-robin play against Switzerland on Monday morning. Even if Peterman and Gallant win out, their fate may hinge on tiebreaker rules. If multiple teams are deadlocked, the first decider is head-to-head results; but if more than two teams are involved, draw shot challenge rankings come into play, and Canada currently sits at the bottom of that list. So, not only do they need to win, but they’ll need a bit of luck and help from other results to sneak into the semifinals.
Meanwhile, the United States is riding high after a dramatic 8-7 victory over Sweden that secured their first-ever trip to the mixed doubles curling playoffs since the discipline was introduced at the Olympics in 2018. The American duo, Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin from Duluth, Minnesota, put on a show in Cortina d’Ampezzo, overcoming a 3-0 deficit in the first end to tie the game in the second. Thiesse’s spectacular final stone in the fourth end cleared out the Swedish stones, giving the U.S. a 6-4 lead at the break.
The Americans stole a point in the fifth end before Sweden clawed back with a two-point power play in the sixth, narrowing the gap to 7-6. The Swedes then stole a point in the seventh, tying things at 7-7 and setting up a heart-stopping final end. Dropkin delivered in style, blasting all three Swedish stones out of the house and sealing the historic win for Team USA.
With the victory, the U.S. not only advanced to the playoffs but also set themselves up for a marquee showdown against defending Olympic champions Italy, led by Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner, in their final round-robin match on Monday morning. That contest promises fireworks, with Italy looking to defend their crown and the Americans eager to keep their momentum rolling. The playoff semifinals are scheduled to begin later that day, with both matches taking place simultaneously.
For fans of curling, it doesn’t get much better than this. The field is stacked with world-class talent, and every shot, every end, seems to carry the weight of Olympic dreams. Canada’s hopes may be hanging by a thread, but as Gallant put it, “We obviously need two wins and a little bit of help.” Stranger things have happened on Olympic ice.
As the round robin winds down, all eyes are on the standings, the tiebreakers, and the high-stakes matchups to come. Can Canada pull off a miraculous turnaround? Will Team USA’s breakthrough run continue against the reigning champs? One thing’s for sure: the drama in Milano Cortina is far from over, and curling fans around the world are in for a wild ride as the playoffs draw near.