In Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy, on February 19th, Rachel Homan led Team Canada to a crucial 10-7 victory over South Korea, securing their place in the semi-finals of the women’s curling event at the Winter Olympics. The United States also advanced to the semi-finals with a hard-fought win. Homan’s stellar performance marked her first appearance in the Olympic semi-finals.
Despite being two-time world champions and pre-tournament favorites for gold, Canada had a slow start in the round-robin phase, with just one win in their first four matches. Homan, who had struggled in previous Olympic Games, was determined to make a mark this time around.
Reflecting on their journey, Homan acknowledged the challenges of competing in a single-elimination format at the Olympics. She emphasized the importance of belief, teamwork, and resilience in such high-pressure situations. In her words, “Everyone’s gunning for you, and you have to bring your best every single time or it’s going to be a loss.”
Meanwhile, Tabitha Peterson’s United States team also secured a spot in the semi-finals by defeating Switzerland 7-6. The American team is aiming to clinch their first-ever Olympic medal in women’s curling, adding to the excitement of the upcoming matches.
The game went into an extra end and Switzerland set up two stones in the house, but Peterson made a difficult draw with her last shot to snatch the win.
Asked about the final shot, the team’s second Tara Peterson said: “We just told her the speed… You give Tab a draw, she’s going to make it, so we were very happy to have that opportunity.”
The United States face Switzerland once again in the semi-finals on Friday, while round-robin leaders Sweden take on fourth-placed Canada.
Sophie Jackson’s Britain beat hosts Italy 7-4 to finish sixth.
Britain were defending champions, though Jennifer Dodds was the only curler left from the gold-winning lineup in Beijing, with previous skip Eve Muirhead retiring soon after that victory.
The final session of women’s round-robin games, as well as the men’s semi-finals later on Thursday, were delayed by 30 minutes after heavy snowfall in Cortina d’Ampezzo caused travel issues.
Reporting by Aadi Nair, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Hugh Lawson
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Team Canada, led by Rachel Homan, and the United States both advanced to the women’s curling semi-finals, overcoming early challenges to keep their Olympic medal hopes alive.