Winter Olympics 2026, women’s team curling: United States falls to Sweden as round robin begins
PyeongChang 2018 Olympic champions Sweden launched their quest for a third Olympic medal in strong fashion after booking consecutive wins on the opening day of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 women’s curling event on Thursday (12 February).
The rink, skipped by Anna Hasselborg, saw off Japan 8-4 in the morning session before returning to the ice to defeat the United States 9-4 in a compelling encounter at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.
After a blanked first end and an exchange of singles in the second and third ends, an early break went the way of skip Tabitha Peterson and her U.S. quartet.
With her final rock, Peterson delivered a sublime hit and roll, using a Swedish rock as a target before rolling her shooter behind her own guard in front of the house, to have the U.S lying one.
Hasselborg responded by attempting to raise the U.S. stone for a score of one, but came up a little heavy, meaning her rock rolled off to sit second, handing Peterson the steal for a 2-1 lead.
It would, however, be the only time the U.S. had the advantage. After scoring a two in the fifth, Hasselborg then engineered her first of three steals in the game.
Her second – a single – came, crucially, in the ninth end, giving the Swedes a 6-4 lead coming into the 10th end without the hammer. And despite Peterson’s best efforts to find a multiple score to at least tie the game, the skip’s final takeout attempt to clear the three Swedish stones in the house hit a guard, handing Hasselborg and her team a concluding three-point end.
“It was such a fun game. We really love being here, and we talked about going in and being very patient and continuing to learn the ice, and I think we did just that,” the Swedish skip said afterwards.
“I just love the environment and being here,” she continued, reflecting on her return to her third Games. “You are like with your friends at a summer camp, everything is fun.”
