Canada’s Team Rachel Homan couldn’t have asked for a better start at the Winter Olympics.
The Canadian rink crushed Denmark’s Team Madeleine Dupont 10-4 in just seven ends on Thursday.
For the first four ends Denmark played well, even earning a steal in the third end to tie it at 3-3. But the fifth end is where it all fell apart for the Danes.
With the hammer, they made a complete mess of the end, missing multiple shots and making a couple questionable calls that led to Homan making them pay.
Homan drew into the four-foot to sit five with a guard of her own out front with her last rock. Dupont’s only option was to try and limit the amount Homan could steal, but she only eliminated one of the Canadian stones to give up a steal of four.
Up 7-4 in the sixth, Canada put the game to bed as Homan had an open draw to the house to score three. Denmark had enough and shook.
The scary part for every other country in the field is this game could be the worst Canada will shoot all week. As a team, Canada shot 75 per cent while Homan herself shot 68 per cent. Yet, they had no problem taking care of their opponent.
This is Homan’s second time wearing the Maple Leaf at an Olympics in the women’s discipline. Her first time was back in 2018, where she finished with a 4-5 record to miss the playoffs and end the tournament in sixth place.
Longtime teammate Emma Miskew also played with Homan in 2018. For new team members Tracy Fleury and Sarah Wilkes, this is their first Olympic games.
This time around, there is a lot of pressure for Homan to not only reach the podium, but win the gold. She is the heavy favourite to win and her rink been the best team on the planet the past three seasons. Anything less than gold would be a letdown.
Elsewhere in the first draw of the women’s event ,the U.S. beat Korea 8-4, Sweden handled Japan 8-4 and Switzerland (Homan’s toughest competition) defeated Italy 7-4.
Neither of the Canadian teams play again on Thursday but they will have a busy day on Friday. On the men’s side, Canada’s Team Brad Jacobs will take on the U.S. at 3:05 a.m. ET / 12:05 a.m. PT before facing Sweden at 1:05 p.m. ET / 10:05 a.m. PT.
Homan’s team will go against the U.S. in its lone match of the day at 8:05 a.m. ET / 5:05 a.m. PT.
Each team will play nine round-robin games and the top four teams will advance to semifinals.
