4 February 2026
Estonia make Olympic curling history on day one at Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games
When Estonia’s Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill stepped onto the ice for the first round-robin session of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, they made history as the first Estonian curlers ever to appear at an Olympic Games.
And with curling being the first sport in action at these Games — starting two days before the Opening Ceremony — Kaldvee then became the first athlete to play, when she delivered the first stone of the session, marginally ahead of the other three games.
However, just as it became the first sport in action, curling also became the first to have play stopped when the electricity supply for the extra TV lights went out briefly halfway through the first end.
Normal service was soon restored, and Estonia continued their first game against Switzerland. The Swiss had the better last stone draw and used that advantage to open the scoring with a single point in the first end, after an umpire’s measure.
Estonia scored one point to level the game in the second but in the third, Switzerland’s Briar Schwaller-Huerlimann scored two with a gentle tap-up to take a 3-1 lead. Switzerland then followed that up with two single-point steals to hold a 5-1 lead after five ends.
By the eighth end, Switzerland led 7-3, but in a dramatic turn of events, Estonia’s Kaldvee played a draw to score four points and level the game at 7-7, forcing an extra end.
Speaking about that end afterward, Kaldvee said, “I think we surprised everybody in the ice rink in the eighth end, the crowd was not expecting that, but we played the end to take the four — we were building.”
That put a dream start for Estonian curling history within touching distance, but Switzerland managed to score two points in the extra end without having to play their last stone and won 9-7.
After the game, Harri Lill reflected on finally being at the Olympic Games after two years of dedication: “Getting to the Olympics? It’s been worth it.”
He continued, “It’s epic. The [Olympic] Village is super cool and the winter wonderland is great with the mountains and the snow. The place looks terrific and the arena is great.”
Looking forward, Lill added, “Now we need to focus on the next game — every game is important now.”
In a re-run of the last Olympic semi-final four years ago, Great Britain faced Norway. This time the British duo of Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat managed to reverse the result, finishing with an 8-6 win.
Speaking afterward, Mouat said, “I had a bit of a rough start in the first end, but Jen made a really good shot to get our one.
“Then we took advantage in the second end with a steal of three, then I think the big turning point was the sixth end when we got the three. We’re happy with the win but I think we can step up our game now.”
Dodds added, “That was good momentum, but we need to sharpen up on a few things now, and we know what they are.”
Canada played Czechia in this session, and won by 10-5, mostly thanks to a steal of four in the second end that Canada built up and Czechia could not shake.
Speaking about being at the Olympic Winter Games, Canada’s Jocelyn Peterman said, “We’ve been preparing for this for a long time so to finally get out there and throw some rocks was fun.”
Brett Gallant added, “Our goal was to get a feel for the ice.”
Reflecting on their early big lead he said, “You’re never too comfortable in [mixed] doubles, there are a lot of points to be scored.”
In the fourth game of the session Swedish siblings Isabella and Rasmus Wranaa beat Republic of Korea 10-3 in six ends, completing the game with a steal of four in the fifth end and a single steal in the sixth.
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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