Canadian curlers Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant look dejected on the Olympic rink after semifinal elimination.
Canadian curlers Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant look dejected on the Olympic rink after semifinal elimination.
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Canada eliminated from Olympic mixed doubles curling semifinals

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Canada's Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant were knocked out of medal contention in the mixed doubles curling event at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics after losses to Sweden and South Korea on February 8. The husband-and-wife duo finished with a 3-5 record, unable to adjust to changing ice conditions that hampered their performance. Great Britain, the United States, Sweden and Italy advanced to the semifinals.

At the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Canada's mixed doubles curling team faced a heartbreaking end to their Olympic campaign on Sunday, February 8, 2026. Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, competing as a married couple from Chestermere, Alberta, suffered a 7-6 loss to Sweden's siblings Isabella Wrana and Rasmus Wrana in the morning draw. Sweden scored three points in the seventh end to secure the victory, leaving Canada needing a win in their evening match and favorable results elsewhere to stay alive.

Hope faded completely with a 9-5 defeat to South Korea's Seonyeong Kim and Yeongseok Jeong later that day. Canada scored two in the sixth end to close the gap, but South Korea responded with two in the seventh, and Peterman's double-runback attempt for a tie in the eighth fell short. The losses marked Canada's fifth straight defeat, dropping their round-robin record to 3-5 after an initial 3-0 start with wins over Czechia, Norway and Italy.

The team's struggles began after a Friday ice adjustment that sped up the surface by about a second from hog line to hog line, reducing curl and confusing their shots. 'Just on the wrong side of the inch,' Gallant told CBC Olympics. 'We were loving it early and then it just changed and just honestly was a bit of an uphill battle after that.' Peterman added, 'Tough reflecting on the week. I think we battled hard, we fought till the end.'

Post-elimination, Peterman wiped away tears, while Gallant expressed disappointment: 'We wanted to get on the podium. It was our goal and it hurts.' Coach Scott Pfeifer noted the strong field: 'It's probably the strongest field we've ever played against.' This marks the second straight Olympics without a Canadian mixed doubles medal, following gold in the event's 2018 debut.

The duo has one final game Monday against Switzerland before Gallant joins Brad Jacobs' men's team. Semifinals feature Great Britain, the U.S., Sweden and defending champions Italy.

What people are saying

Discussions on X highlight disappointment over Canada's elimination from the Olympic mixed doubles curling semifinals, with users noting the team's strong 3-0 start followed by five straight losses to Sweden and South Korea. Sympathy is expressed for the visibly emotional husband-and-wife duo Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, who struggled to adapt. Journalists provide neutral recaps, while sentiments range from empathy and praise for effort to rare harsh criticism labeling it a disgrace.

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