5 February 2026
Canada upset Defending Olympic champs Italy at Olympic Winter games
Thursday evening’s mixed doubles round-robin session saw some exciting and dramatic results.
Defending Olympic champions Italy went down to their first defeat, at the hands of Canada; Estonia recorded their first ever Olympic with victory over Sweden; Czechia ran Great Britain very close in their game; and Switzerland got back to winning ways when they beat the Republic of Korea.
Before this session, defending Olympic champions and reigning world champions Italy had never lost a game since 2021. However, the writing was on the wall for that record straight from the first end, when Canada opened with a massive score of five when Jocelyn Peterman finished off the end with a raise take-out.
After that, Italy simple could not get back on form, only able to score ones instead of the multiple points they were looking for. The Italians eventually conceded after six ends, with Canada winning 7-2. This win keeps Canada’s unbeaten record intact and puts them in a tie with Great Britain at the top of the table, with three wins and no losses.
Afterwards, Brett Gallant spoke about Canada’s knock-out start: “We just came out of the gate really well. We made our first five shots really well and we got a couple of breaks from them. Jocelyn was able to convert and we got five points.”
He added, As you know, in mixed doubles, so many points can go on the board in a hurry. We rode our momentum and played a complete game on the heels of that start.”
Jocelyn Peterman added, “Most of that first end was Brett — he made some great shots. He left me with a pretty easy shot and had them in a lot of trouble with his three middle stones.
“We’re just doing our thing keeping our heads down. We’re trying to read the ice every game and get our draw-weight.”
When asked about being the first team to beat Italy, Brett said, “It feels great. Going into that game you’ve got only one option because they’re such a strong team. They’re defending world champs, defending Olympic champs, so the focus is easy.
“You’ve just got to get off to a great start, and play really well. I’m just glad that we were able to execute that kind of plan tonight.”
In the game between Estonia and Sweden, the Swedes opened with a single point in the first end. However, Estonia edged ahead with a score of three in the second when Marie Kaldvee scored three points with a double take-out.
Estonia then had single point steals in the fifth and sixth ends to take a 6-3 lead. Sweden closed to 5-6 in the seventh, but Estonia kept their nerve in the eighth end. Kaldvee drew inside a Sweden counter to score one more point and Estonia claimed their first win of the event by 7-5.
Afterwards, Harri Lill said, “We’ve worked hard to get here and you have to work hard every stone, every end, every game to have a chance to win. Every team is good enough that if you make a miss, they will use that advantage.”
Marie Kaldvee added, “I feel really good. I feel that was a team game and a team win.”
She added, “I think that when we are happy on the ice, our fans and family can see it, and they are happy for us — we are happy that they are here with us.”
Czechia were looking for their first win when they faced Great Britain. The British duo held a 5-2 lead at the break, but Czechia responded in the fifth end when Julie Zelingrova drew her final stone for a score of three to level the game at 5-5. Showing all their experience, Great Britain then carved out an 8-7 win when Czechia could only score two points in the eighth end, rather than the three points needed to force an extra end.
In the fourth game of the session, Switzerland beat Republic of Korea by 8-5, helped largely by a score of four points in the third end.
These results mean that Canada and Great Britain are joint leaders, on three wins and no losses, while Czechia, Republic of Korea and Norway are still looking for their first wins.
Follow the live scores from mixed doubles curling at Milano Cortina 2026 here.
Find the full mixed doubles schedule and results here.
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