Bottcher only finalist without Olympian status
LIVERPOOL, N.S.—It’s an all-Alberta final at Queens Place Emera Centre.
Alberta’s Rachel Homan and Brendan Bottcher shattered a tight game in the seventh end with a huge four-ender en route to an 8-4 win over Ontario’s Lisa Weagle and John Epping in the semifinal of Canada’s mixed doubles Olympic Trials.
The winners’ will battle undefeated Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant in the championship final (2:00 p.m. Atlantic time).
The champions will own Canada’s mixed doubles berth at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, provided they qualify their country for said Games at the World Mixed Doubles Championship in Fredericton starting in late April.
Of the four finalists, Bottcher is the only one seeking Olympian status. His teammate has competed in the past two Games, Gallant won men’s fours bronze with Brad Gushue at Beijing 2022, and Peterman and Weagle were members of Jennifer Jones’ women’s fours squad at PyeongChang 2018.
Homan/Bottcher scored an opening deuce thanks to a nifty promotion-nudge delivered with takeout weight.
Weagle/Epping threatened with a multiple score in the second end, but a strong Bottcher brush—urged on by a hollering Homan—managed second shot, leaving Weagle a tap for the tie.
The mixed doubles curling clinic continued in the third end. The only miss—the first of the match, really—came on Rachel Homan’s last draw attempt for two.
There wasn’t much chance for that, unless a spinning draw was thrown, a la Japanese women’s fours skip Momoha Tabata.
In the fourth, it was Weagle’s turn to miss her last throw, ticking a guard in an attempt to fight her way into the button to score two. Another single and a 3-3 scoreboard.
The midway break might have unsettled the rhythm, as three straight misses left Homan/Bottcher with another single.
The sixth end saw John Epping jam a guard, leaving half the four foot closed off. Bottcher shut the other half completely but an Epping runback on his guard did the job, clearing the mess and opening the door to another single.
The power plays were saved for last—first up came Homan/Bottcher’s, with the score tied 4-4 in the seventh end.
Play moved to the corner, and it paid off for the Albertans. Weagle’s last-stone freeze attempt was a touch wide and heavy, and Homan pounced for a short in-house double for a huge four-ender.
The Ontario pair couldn’t muster the four they needed, and the game that was tight most of the way was over.
Weagle/Epping have competed together in the mixed doubles discipline for at least nine years. Homan/Bottcher are into their eighth month as a team.
The final will be streamed live on Curling Canada’s YouTube page.