Canadian curling team eliminated after heartbreaking Olympic loss
There will be no Olympic medal for Canada in mixed curling doubles.
After starting off the tournament with three-straight wins, the Canadian duo of Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant dropped five-straight to be eliminated from medal contention. The nail in the coffin was a 9-5 loss to South Korea on Sunday, ending their podium hopes.
The odds were already long for Canada, which needed to win its last two preliminary matches and have Italy lose their last two as well to qualify for the playoffs.
It’s a disappointing result for the married couple, who were hoping to get a spot on the podium in their first Olympics competing as a team.
Peterman and Gallant had a dream start to the tournament. The duo quickly dispatched Czechia, Norway, and defending Olympic champion Italy, setting up what could have been a dominant run to the podium.
However, they hit a bump after a loss to the United States on Friday and couldn’t quite recover, dropping matches against Great Britain, Estonia, Sweden, and South Korea to cap off a disappointing showing.
They still have one more game left on their preliminary schedule, with a match against Switzerland set for Monday morning.
There is still a chance that one of the curlers leaves Italy with an Olympic medal around their neck. Gallant will be on the men’s curling team led by Brad Jacobs.
The men’s tournament will get underway on Feb. 11.