Critical Curling in Cortina as Olympic Playoffs Loom

It’s a big Wednesday schedule at the Cortina Olympic Curling Stadium.

Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg (6-1) has already clinched a spot in the semifinals.

Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni, likely competing in her final Olympic Winter Games, is tied for second with USA’s Tabitha Peterson at 5-2.

Canada’s Rachel Homan and South Korea’s Kim Un-Chi are tied for the final playoff spot at 4-3, and will battle in Thursday’s round robin finale.

Both are facing critical matches today; Canada versus Italy and the Koreans facing Sweden. 

There could be Draw Shot Challenge (DSC) consideration for the final playoff spot. There are no tiebreakers in Olympic curling; they were abandoned in favour of DSC tabulation four years ago in Beijing.

Italy’s Stefania Constantini (2-5) and Japan’s Sayaka Yoshimura (1-6) are out of playoff contention.

On the men’s side, Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller (7-0) and Canada’s Brad Jacobs (6-1) are into the playoffs.

Hosts Italy (Joel Retornaz) and Norway (Magnus Ramsfjell) are at 4-3, with Great Britain’s Bruce Mouat and USA’s Danny Casper battling at 4-4.

Germany’s Mark Muskatewitz is out of contention at 3-5.

China (Xu Xiaoming) is 2-5 with Sweden (Niklas Edin) at 2-6 and Czechia (Lukas Klima) at 1-6.

Great Britain will tangle with USA on Wednesday afternoon, while Canada faces Italy and Norway meets the Swiss.