Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman, Canada's mixed doubles curling team, are set to lead the nation's charge at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. The duo from Chestermere, Alberta, begins competition on February 4 against Czechia, aiming for gold in the event that kicks off the Games. Meanwhile, Team USA's Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin will also debut as the first American athletes in Italy.
Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman, highly decorated seconds in the curling world, take on lead roles for Canada in mixed doubles at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The couple from Chestermere, Alberta, spoke to media on Monday about their excitement ahead of the Milano Cortina Games. "We’re ready to go," said Gallant, a 35-year-old from Charlottetown, P.E.I. "We’ve played together, preparing for this moment, for a long time. So it’s just seizing the moment now."
Their schedule at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, built in 1956, features a demanding nine-game round-robin over six days, starting Wednesday, February 4, at 1:05 p.m. ET against Czechia’s Julie Zelingrova and Vit Chabicovsky. Subsequent matches include Norway and Italy on February 5, USA on February 6, Great Britain and Estonia on February 7, Sweden and Korea on February 8, and Switzerland on February 9. Semifinals follow on February 9, with medal games on February 10.
The pair arrives in Italy on January 28 for training in Brunico, South Tyrol, where Curling Canada has arranged a two-sheet facility mimicking Olympic conditions. "We have kind of a two-sheet curling club to ourselves there, so we feel pretty spoiled," said Peterman, 32, from Red Deer, Alberta. They recently competed in a 12-team event in Sherwood Park, Alberta, going 6-0 in round-robin and semifinals before a 7-4 final loss to Japan’s Chiaki Matsumura and Yasumasa Tanida. "A final tune-up event," Gallant noted. "Things went well, but you’re still learning."
Peterman emphasized focus: "We’re just working really hard at being fully committed to our preparation and having no regrets." Ice-making by Curling Canada’s Greg Ewasko adds confidence.
For the USA, Thiesse and Dropkin qualified by placing fifth at the 2025 world championships after winning Olympic trials in February 2025. They will compete first among Americans, with Thiesse also on the women’s team alongside Tabitha and Tara Peterson and Taylor Anderson-Heide. The men’s team—Danny Casper, Aidan Oldenburg, Ben Richardson, Luc Violette, and alternate Rich Ruohonen—makes its Olympic debut after trials victory. The event marks mixed doubles' continued Olympic presence since its 2018 introduction.
