24 April 2024

“We both believe we can do it, so we’ve just got to make it happen.”

Says Estonia’s Harri Lill, who is taking part in his seventh World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Oestersund with Marie Kaldvee.

They are certainly one of the most experienced teams taking part in this year’s World Mixed Doubles Championship, but they are also arguably one of the most motivated duos too.

For all their years of taking part, including just missing out on medals in 2019 and last year when they finished fifth on both occasions, they remain supremely focussed on what their target is. 

Harri says, “Olympic qualification is why we’re here.” And being fully aware that this event is one of only two opportunities to gather points for direct Olympic qualification, he adds, “World championship success would be sort of secondary – it’s the points that are most important to us.”

Both Harri and Marie started their curling careers being involved in their national men’s and women’s teams, but mixed doubles is now their primary focus. 

Marie gives some insight into their thinking, saying, “I think mixed doubles is the best shot [at Olympic participation] for small nations, especially like us, because you need two athletes that are dedicated to work hard enough. I’m not saying our ladies’ and men’s teams aren’t working hard, but it is more that we have played together for a long time.

“This is our seventh worlds – we have gained so much and every year we’re trying to find a little bit more. To find two athletes who are taking all this time from personal life and from work life, it’s not that easy. Many people don’t have the possibility to do so with their work.”

And the Estonian pair are trying hard to make their Olympic ambitions come true in other ways rather than just putting in the practice hours on the ice.

They have been part of a publicity campaign at home that has seen them build a growing profile, on posters and in the media.  

Marie explains, “We are trying to find sponsors and that would give us a little advantage. If we can have the best sports equipment, then, we’re taking it. We’re not going to say no. Every sponsor that we can find, even if it’s just a photoshoot once a year, I’m taking it.”   

She adds, “We have a good Estonia curling media team which gives us big exposure. It’s getting better because we have had some good results in tournaments. And we’re getting good results in the media pages.” 

Harri adds his thoughts too, “This kind of exposure helps to make us known and makes it better for other sponsorship opportunities too.

“Throwing the rocks is just a small part of what we’re trying to do, we have a big team around us” – he adds.

While their mixed doubles Olympic qualification campaign is a big part of what is happening in Estonian curling, there is other good news too. 

Harri says, “Corporate curling in Estonia is still healthy, but we only have three sheets and we’re trying to get more ice for club curlers. We have between 80 or 100 people who are practising all the time and thousands who come through the corporate side. It helps us a lot because it means our practice ice is really good.”

Marie agrees, “The level of curling in Estonia is getting better and better, with people coming to practise during the daytime which never used to happen, so the ice is booked the whole day.”

While this is all good news, for the moment, Marie and Harri are firmly focussed on the Olympic job at hand. 

Harri says, “Probably after the worlds we will sit down again and see how we could develop – there’s always something for improvement.” 

Marie adds, “We’re still just taking it one game at a time. Every game is a new game, every team is a new team. Everybody here wants to go to the Olympics, so we will still practice a lot and try to put every little piece into place.”

And taking a moment to look further ahead and dream about the Olympics, Marie says, “It has been a dream for quite a long time – ever since I started curling at a better level than just as a junior curler. Now that I know what I’m doing, and now that I know what we are capable of… It means the world.”

Engage with World Curling during the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship 2024 on TikTok, Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, and Weibo and by searching the hashtags #WMDCC and #curling