The U.S. women's curling team achieved a historic victory by defeating Canada 9-8 in a round-robin match at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. This marks the first time the American women have beaten Canada in Olympic competition since women's curling debuted in 1998. The win improves Team USA's record to 2-1 in the tournament.
On February 13, 2026, during the third session of women's curling round-robin play at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, the U.S. team, skipped by Tabitha Peterson, edged out Canada's top-ranked Team Homan 9-8 in a dramatic 10th-end comeback. The match took place at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, where the Americans capitalized on several weak shots by their opponents to secure the victory.
Team USA's roster includes skip Tabitha Peterson, her sister Tara Peterson at third, Taylor Anderson-Heide at second, and lead Cory Thiesse, with Aileen Geving as alternate. Many team members hail from Minnesota, and three hold jobs outside curling: Tara as a dentist, Tabitha as a pharmacist, and Thiesse as a lab technician. Additionally, three are mothers to young children, including Tara's son Eddie born in September 2024 and Tabitha's daughter Noelle shortly after.
The players were surprised to learn of the milestone's significance post-match. Taylor Anderson-Heide, from Minneapolis, said, “If that's true, I think we just played a really good game. They're No. 1 in the world.” Tara Peterson added, “It just always feels really good to beat (Canada skip) Rachel Homan. So any team to beat them, that’s pretty impressive.” She further noted, “Apparently, we’ve never beat them in the Olympics before. That makes it just extra special.”
Prior to this game, the U.S. women had lost every Olympic matchup against Canada since 1998, while the U.S. men had defeated Canada in 2018 en route to gold. Team USA entered the match 1-1, having beaten South Korea 8-4 and lost to Sweden 9-4. Canada, skipped by Rachel Homan, dropped to 1-1. The Americans have several round-robin matches remaining before the semifinals on February 20, 2026.
After the win, the U.S. team walked down the ice together, raising fists in celebration toward their coaches.
