Lethbridge, Canada
Saturday 29 April 2017
Canada, China, Finland, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, and USA have qualified their National Olympic Committees (NOCs) for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games mixed doubles curling event.
This is guaranteed at the conclusion of the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship 2017 semi-finals and after 5-8 and 11-12 classification games. These NOCs will join Korea, who qualify as hosts, in the new eight team medal discipline which will be played in the Gangneung Curling Centre, Gangneung, Republic of Korea.
Mixed doubles, men’s and women’s curling at the Games will run from 8-25 February 2018.
The final rankings of all the teams in the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship 2017 and the exact Olympic Qualification Points will be finalised after Saturday’s (29 April) finals, in the ATB Centre, in Lethbridge, Canada.
Meanwhile, hosts Canada have reached their first ever World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship final, after beating China 5-4 in an extra end in the semi-finals. They will take-on unbeaten, Switzerland in Saturday’s (29 April) gold medal final. Of the Swiss pair, Martin Rios won this event in 2012, in Erzurum, Turkey, but it will be a first final for his partner, Jenny Perret.
Switzerland beat Czech Republic 7-6 to reach the final. Therefore, China and Czech Republic will now play for bronze medals.
In the semi-finals, China and Canada were already qualified for the Olympics, but still had everything to play for to reach the finals and keep their hopes of the title and gold medals alive. Trailing, by one point going into the eighth end China stole a single point to take the game to an extra end. However, with hammer in the extra end Canada pair, Joanne Courtney and Reid Carruthers held their nerve to score the one point needed to win 5-4.
Czech Republic and Switzerland, were locked at 6-6 going into the final and last end in their semi-final game. But, it was Switzerland who emerged victorious when Jenny Perret executed a take-out to give her team one point and the 7-6 win.
A win for Norway in their fifth-place to eighth-place classification game against Finland secured their place at the Olympics. They won that game 6-4.
The gold medal game will be live on World Curling TV and national broadcasters at 16.00 (minus six Universal Coordinated Time).
To keep up-to-date with all the action from the WMDCC 2017, and the teams’ journey to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, follow us on Twitter, Instagram (@worldcurling) and Facebook (/WorldCurlingFederation) and use the hashtags: #WMDCC2017 #Roadto2018 #curling
