21 January 2024

Where are they now? A look back at Youth Olympians

“The youth is the hope of our future” once left the lips of Filipino national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, a quote that has been paraphrased for years after the revolutionary’s death.

With a world crammed with distractions, this quote is pertinent in the curling community – which does not take the development of future athletes for granted.

The Olympic Winter Games provides a spotlight for the sport every four years, while the best of the   upcoming generation have that same opportunity at the Winter Youth Olympic Games.

Along with the World Junior Curling Championships, the Winter Youth Olympic Games is the pinnacle of a young athlete’s career, giving them the opportunity to show their skills on the major stage.

Working as intended, the Games has also led to several athletes continuing their journey, all the way to the top of elite curling competition, claiming gold medals and acting as the inspiration for those who follow them.

From Youth Olympics to Olympic champions

Perhaps the best example of this is Italy’s Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner, the mixed doubles gold medallists at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Before their impressive undefeated run to the top of the podium in China, both players had already had a taste at the Games.

Mosaner featured at the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck back in 2012, alongside Beijing 2022 men’s champion Rasmus Wranaa, second for Niklas Edin’s Sweden team.

Mosaner successfully led his rink to silver in the mixed team event in 2012, a decade before winning mixed doubles Olympic gold and world men’s bronze as part of Joel Retornaz’s rink.

Constantini was third on the Italian team at the Lillehammer 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games, sharing a stage with future stars such as Olympic gold medallist Mili Smith and Olympic runner-up Ross Whyte.

Beginning of the road

Most importantly, junior results do not necessarily lead to elite success. Italy would finish with a 3-5 record, yet six years later, Constantini would be crowned Olympic champion in mixed doubles, before leading the national women’s team to take silver at the Le Gruyère AOP European Curling Championships 2023.

In 2023, Switzerland’s Selina Witschonke joined the superstar rink of Silvana Tirinzoni, immediately finding success by winning European gold against Team Constantini. Although she plays second now, Witschonke skipped her nation’s team at Lillehammer 2016. There, they won bronze medals in the mixed event.

“That was a great experience for me and I think it helped me for big tournaments in the years after that,” said Witschonke.

“It really helped me with the spectators and stuff like that.

“It was a really big event — it’s not only about curling, it’s also other sports and so many people in places like the eating hall.”

While the Swiss athlete had a breakthrough in 2023, the stars of the 2020 Games are on the cusp of doing the same thing. Still in the early years of their career, there are already players graduating to the elite stage.

Canada’s Nathan Young won Youth Olympic gold in mixed doubles four years ago with Hungary’s Nagy Laura. The young Canadian is the first of the 2020 cohort to win a continental title, acting as the alternate to Brad Gushue at the Pan Continental Curling Championships 2022.

Then you have the 2020 Italian lead, Marta Lo Deserto, a quarter-finalist four years ago, who now plays alongside Constantini, showing the successful pathway for Italy in the build-up to the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

Away from the titans of the sport, you have Hungary, a yo-yo nation between the European A and B Divisions, who saw improvements thanks to the likes of Joo Linda. Although picking up just a couple of wins in the mixed team competition in 2020, Joo threw the last stones for her team at the Europeans’ B-Division in 2023, earning them promotion to the A-Division for 2024. She was also selected for the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in 2023, where she teamed up with her former mixed team skip, Tatar Lorinc.

While it was a great way to continue developing as a player, she recalls the fond memories of meeting others from different sports and countries as a particular highlight in Champery.

“It was so special because you met not only curlers from other countries, but also other athletes, so like from other sports, even from your own country as well,” said Joo.

“Those who represented Hungary were also really cheerful and so they were really excited about us, and we were also excited about how they performed in their event.”

Born into a famous curling family, Benny Kapp — son of two-time European champion Andy Kapp —  skipped his nation to the Youth Olympic quarter-finals at the age of 17, and has acted as an alternate for Germany at two world championships and two European championships. 

Less to do with the gravity of his surname and more to do with the gravity of the competition, he admits it was a difficult but necessary step to get to the top.

“I was very nervous to play the Youth Olympics because as the name already tells you, it actually feels like you play at the Olympics at such a young age, but that’s why it is also that much fun and so worth it,” said Kapp.

“I’d say you [future athletes] should enjoy it as much as you can and have a lot of fun and talk to the other great athletes.

“It is a privilege to have the opportunity to play there and you can be proud of yourself that you’ve come this far.”

For some of these athletes, this will be a career highlight. For others, it is only the beginning. What is almost a certainty is, a future world or Olympic champion will be taking to the ice in the Gangneung Curling Centre.

Written by Feature Writer, Michael Houston

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