23 January 2026

Milano Cortina 2026: Team Norway

As the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games is right around the corner, we are taking a look at all the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) set compete in curling. Next: Team Norway.

Team Norway will be represented by two curling teams: Team Ramsfjell (men’s) and Team Skaslien/Nedregotten (mixed doubles).

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In 2008, Kristin Moen Skaslien was making an early impression in her first European Curling Championships as lead for Norway. During a qualification match for the 2009 World Women’s Curling Championship, she saw a man wearing a wig and sporting the Norwegian flag on his stomach, running around the stands.

One day, she would marry this man.

“I just said, ‘Who are the stupid guys out there?’” Kristin recalled.

One of those “stupid guys” was Magnus Nedregotten. At the time he was just a teenager, working as part of the ice crew. Eighteen years later, he and Kristin would become two-time Olympic medallists — together.

A chance meeting (or two)

They spoke briefly at the end of that competition, but it would take years for their paths to properly cross again. In the spring of 2011, they met at a honky-tonk party in Oppdal, home to the Norwegian curling competition called the Moskus Cup.

Magnus was chatting to Kristin’s sisters, who suggested he dance with her instead. Later that year, by chance, they met again in the same mountain village. These encounters sowed the seeds of something more, but it wasn’t until Kristin left for a three-month internship in Dubai that their relationship truly took shape.

“That’s when I asked, ‘Maybe I can just borrow your key and maybe water your plants a little bit now and then’,” said Magnus.

“And then I was there when she came back. I had moved in, and then we never looked back.”

From relationship to partnership

That was 14 years ago. A year later, the couple decided to try playing together in mixed doubles. They qualified for the 2013 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship at the first attempt, finishing an impressive fourth.

Despite what Kristin describes as their “different personalities”, their chemistry is unmistakable. While some athletes put on a professional facade in interviews, the couple seem unbothered by playful bickering and making jokes at each other’s expense. Disagreements, they say, are simply part of a healthy relationship.

“I think it’s good to have shown results and use that as to visualise during the event that you have the skills necessary to win competitions,” said Magnus when asked whether he prefers entering tournaments as favourites.

“But there’s pros and cons to both. As long as you believe in yourself that you’re good enough to win, then that’s enough.”

“I like to not have all the outside pressure going in there to be the favourites. You put enough pressure on yourself,” added Kristin.

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Meet the teams

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Norway in a changing field

Norway can be difficult to measure on paper. They have won three world medals and are the only team to win Olympic medals in both mixed doubles tournaments to date. It is less to do with regressing, and more to do with standards rising.

Scotland, Sweden, United States and Italy have all won world titles in recent years, while Estonia have emerged as one of the most consistent duos.

Their journey hasn’t been without low points. At Pyeongchang 2018, they finished fourth place, losing the bronze medal game to the Olympic Athletes of Russia — only for one of their opponents to later test positive for a banned substance. Thee bronze medal was awarded retrospectively, an outcome that brought little immediate closure.

“I think it was very important for us to legitimise the fact that we got the bronze four years back,” said Magnus.

“So laying down a good piece of work four years next to that and winning a medal game in the Olympics, that was huge. The silver medal probably puts the bronze medal in a better light.”

Perspective in Beijing

That validation came at Beijing 2022 when they defeated Great Britain’s Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat in the semi-finals, ensuring a place in the mixed doubles final and with it, a guaranteed medal. Despite losing to the unbeatable Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner of Italy in the final, for Kristin, standing on the podium remains as the “biggest moment of my career so far”.

That tournament could have easily went another way. They had just one win from four in the tournament, before the Opening Ceremony, where Kristin was chosen to be Norway’s flag bearer, a great honour for one of the great winter sports nations.

“That was kind of a blessing, because that got her mind off whatever was bad in the curling,” said Magnus.

“After that, we won six in a row and we had such high confidence. So it’s about getting out of the bubble in a good way that you feel that you have managed to get something from the event.”

“I think it’s also about perspective,” added Kristin.

“Walking in there at the Opening Ceremony with all the Norwegians or all the different sports, like you’re not alone.

“It can feel lonely sometimes when you lose and you only want to lay in bed the whole day and not speak to people.”

Enjoying every moment

This time around, there is more focus on leaning into enjoyment and stripping away bad habits. Magnus hopes to collect pins at this Olympic Games and spend more time in the Olympic Village, and reduce his screen time — something he sees as an unnecessary distraction.

Kristin usually leaves the social media to her husband, but plans to embrace the spotlight this time.

“It’s our one time to shine,” she said.

“It’s the one time that all the Norwegians watch curling on TV and if you want to take advantage of that and build yourself a brand, that’s kind of the moment when you can do it.

“But it’s hard because you have to do social media, be a travel agency, you have to practise, you have to make all the plans, you have to do everything.

“We have to do everything ourselves because curling is really small in Norway.”

Risks, trust and a thin line

The upcoming Games is an opportunity to complete their medal collection and an opportunity for Magnus to be elected to the IOC Athletes’ Commission.

“We both have to have a really good week to be on the podium in Cortina,” said Kristin.

“We can have a really good week and still not be up on the podium because the field is so tough.”

“It gets tougher and tougher,” added Magnus.

“We get better and better as well, but the other teams, it’ll be a hell of a fight. So whoever is willing to take enough risk in the key moments and willing to lose, they can win big here.

“So we feel quite confident that we can do our best to make a tough run for the others.”

And much like a good romantic relationship, their on-ice relationship centres around compromise and making sure the decision-making is generally mutual, while picking their moments to shine.

“I think finding that balance point is a key thing to perform good,” said Kristin.

“And trusting yourself, giving good advice to your partner, giving your partner room, but still you have to tell when you disagree or when you have another opinion.

“So it’s a really thin line there. It’s a mental game, maybe even more than the physical part.”

Still giving him a chance

Fifteen years on from those chance encounters, they head to Cortina d’Ampezzo with a great sense of optimism.

“When we were official back in 2012, you were still kind of a party boy. I had a serious job and you were doing nice in the curling rink and like living your life,” laughed Kristin.

“I said I’m together with Magnus, and my friends just said, ‘Are you joking?’

“I wanted to give it a chance. Then yeah, a lot of years later, it’s still working out.”

Magnus nudged his wife and said: “Still giving me a chance.”

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Team Norway stats

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