By Ben Hoppe
When the opening ceremonies officially open the Olympic Winter Games on Friday, the mixed doubles curling event will already be nearing its halfway mark in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Curling is the first sport to get underway with round-robin play of the mixed doubles discipline beginning Wednesday.
Because of its fast pace, preplaced rocks, and inability to throw takeouts at the beginning of an end, the mixed doubles game is highly variable. In a discipline where leads are already not safe, the bright lights along with a high-calibre field mean that anything can happen, and “upsets” are almost expected.
Several factors are making this the most unpredictable Olympic Mixed Doubles event yet.
AN ABUNDANCE OF INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS
Seven of the 10 teams in the field have finished on the podium at a World Mixed Doubles Championship, including four gold medals (2025 — Italy, 2024 — Sweden, 2023 — U.S., 2021 — Great Britain). The team with the most abundant international success is Norway’s Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten. Despite never winning a gold medal, they have earned three world championship medals and two Olympic medals. They are the only team in the field to have competed in every Winter Olympics since the discipline was introduced in 2018.
FROM ZERO TO 63
Reigning Olympic and world champions Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner of Italy have not recorded mixed doubles games on tour this year. Still, after their international success, nobody can take them lightly this year. On the other end of the spectrum, Estonia and South Korea enter the Winter Olympics with 63 and 59 games played this season, respectively.
LIMITED GAMES AGAINST OPPONENTS
While the top teams in the four-person game often match up in Grand Slams throughout the season, there are no mixed doubles tour events showcasing all of the world’s best in one place.
Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin of the United States and Great Britain's Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat have each put together 5-1 records against the 10-team field, and Skaslien and Nedregotten have gone 5-2 against Olympic opponents. While these teams have had success so far this year, there aren’t enough data points to make confident predictions of what may come, especially with Italy (zero games) and Canada (one game) having essentially no competition against the rest of the teams in Cortina.
For a more detailed look at the field, John Cullen and Robbie Doherty did a deep dive into the entire field.
A QUIET DISCIPLINE IN A LOUD BUILDING
All curling events will be held at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, the renovated home of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1956 Winter Olympics. With over 3,000 seats and in a relatively intimate arena, including a lot of wooden structures, the noise could be a unique challenge for the mixed doubles discipline.
Mixed doubles is rarely held in arenas, and even more rare are loud crowds. Where four-person teams have the benefit of utilizing non-verbal communication during a shot, some of the same type of communication between just two teammates may be difficult.
Thiesse and Dropkin were aware of the potential issues and have been working on a minor in-game adjustment. Thiesse shared in a recent interview that during her shots, instead of attempting to communicate the line from where her slide ended, she follows her rock more closely to ensure Dropkin can hear her sweep calls.
Canada’s Brett Gallant acknowledged the noise could pose a problem, but is confident they can handle the situation.
“We have some hand signals. We know how to communicate nonverbally,” Gallant said. He then quipped, “We can be really loud when need be, too.”
Success in Cortina may not come down to who can simply execute the best under pressure. A trip to the Olympic podium will require teams that can adapt and communicate under unique conditions.
MIXED DOUBLES FIELD
| Country | Team |
| Canada | Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant |
| Czechia | Julie Zelingrova and Vit Chabicovsky |
| Estonia | Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill |
| Great Britain | Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat |
| Italy | Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner |
| Norway | Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten |
| South Korea | Seon-yeong Kim and Yeong-seok Jeong |
| Sweden | Isabella Wranå and Rasmus Wranå |
| Switzerland | Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann and Yannick Schwaller |
| United States | Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin |
