Canada’s mixed doubles curling team defeats Norway and Italy in round-robin play

Canada's Jocelyn Peterman, right, and Brett Gallant compete against Norway during the mixed doubles round robin phase of the curling competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy on Feb. 5, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Christophe Ena

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO — Canadian curlers Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman succeeded in their first true test of the mixed doubles competition at the Winter Olympics on Thursday.

They followed it up with another big win in the evening session.

The husband-and-wife duo from Chestermere, Alta., never trailed in a 6-3 win over Norway in afternoon round-robin play at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. Canada followed with a 7-2 victory over Italy in the evening.

“A gritty win and there’s going to have to be a few more of those, I think this week,” Gallant said after the opener. “So that’s a good sign.”

Canada needed only six ends to beat host Italy -- the reigning world and Olympic champions -- in a showcase game that generated plenty of buzz in the 3,450-seat venue.

The Canadians took care of business in their opener with an uneven game that had plenty of misses but effective shotmaking when it mattered.

Peterman made a raise double-takeout in the third end for a deuce and the lone multiple-point score of the game. Gallant raised his fist in the air to salute his partner down the sheet.

“That was a four-point swing, and it was a key shot,” he said. “And yeah, we made the draws when we were in trouble, and we had to get out of it.”

Each team was held to a single on mid-game power plays. In the seventh, Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten both tried low-percentage spinners to get around a crowded house.

Skaslien nearly made the rare shot -- made famous after Niklas Edin’s miracle throw at the world men’s championship in 2023 in Ottawa -- but settled for a single after coming a rock length short.

With hammer in the eighth end, Peterman came through with a draw inside the eight-foot ring for the victory.

“It wasn’t maybe our highest statistic game, but we made a lot of the right shots at the right time,” Gallant said.

Canada finished at 74 per cent overall while Norway shot 73 per cent.

Gallant and Peterman (3-0) opened play a day earlier with a tidy 10-5 victory over Czechia’s Julie Zelingrova and Vit Chabicovsky.

In the only other afternoon game, the American team of Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse moved to 2-0 with a 7-4 victory over Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller and Briar Schwaller-Huerlimann.

Sweden’s Isabella Wrana and Rasmus Wrana and Great Britain’s Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds were also 2-0 after three sessions.

Italy’s Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner took a 1-0 record into evening play after an 8-4 win over South Korea’s Seonyeong Kim and Yeongseok Jeong in the morning draw.

Mixed doubles play continues through the medal games on Tuesday. Traditional four-player team play begins the next day.

The Ottawa-based rink skipped by Rachel Homan is representing Canada in the women’s competition. Skip Brad Jacobs will wear the Maple Leaf for the Calgary-based men’s side.

Canada hasn’t won Olympic curling gold since the mixed doubles team of John Morris and Kaitlyn Lawes was victorious in 2018 at Pyeongchang, South Korea.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2026.

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press