You Can’t Dominate This Sport

In 2010, 19-year-old Eve Muirhead and 24-year-old Niklas Edin made their first Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Calling an Olympics their “first” is a loaded statement, because there was an assumption they’d be back a few times after that. We were, of course, correct, because curling is just so predictable.

But think back to 2010: it was when Kevin Martin won gold, the final checkbox on his lifetime accomplishment scroll. Anette Norberg led Sweden to their second straight Olympic title, something that has yet to be repeated, as much as we have been waiting to see it. And from there, the assumptions stopped.

Headed into Beijing, there were a number of teams who could have been labeled as the team whose “turn” it was to win. Of course, teams don’t take turns, unless you’re talking about the throwing order. The sport is impossibly difficult to maintain a top-ranked stranglehold, and perhaps that’s by design. Every spiel features new ice and new stones. As a result, someone has a good week, and that’s what makes the difference.

Very few expected John Shuster and the USA to repeat as gold, though they came closer than expected. Anna Hasselborg was more of a solid bet to repeat and missed out by a single game. Then there was Gushue and Jones, one-time golden children, again squeezing through the thresher known as the Canadian Trials, only to wind up with bronze and hugs, respectively.

Everyone knows you can’t just roll into the Olympic arena and dominate. But sometimes you can’t show up playing your best and win either. Great Britain curled 90 percent in the men’s gold medal game. That’s usually enough, but Sweden curled 94 percent with the other color. You can dominate for a week, as evidenced by Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner, but in four years – even with that tandem penciled in as the 2026 team – is anyone really expecting them to repeat?

There is never one team that is decisively better than the rest. They can assert dominance over their club, their province, and even their mid-sized country, but worldwide curling autocracy doesn’t exist. The fact that Team Edin holds the last three world titles and three Olympic medals is insanely good, and possibly the best modern curling achievement. But they’ve also won zero Grand Slam titles since 2017 and fell in the European championship last November.

None of this is criticism. This is just as good as anyone can do. The infallibility of every team is defined by the next artificial lake of frozen water that crystallizes underfoot.

As for Muirhead, this was the first team to win a medal out of the Olympic Qualifying Event, let alone the shiniest one. Talk about just barely getting through. This team wasn’t even announced until two days before Christmas. They started the OQE with two losses to the Czech Republic and Turkey. They began the Olympics 1-2 then made the playoffs on a Draw Shot Challenge tiebreaker. They started their semifinal game with a 4-0 deficit. Other than their game against Japan, there was no visible dominance, only persistence.

The testament to Muirhead and Edin “finally getting theirs” is their longevity. The only thing that changed was the calendar. They finally busted their way onto the top step on their fourth tries. Their efforts this year were largely similar to their efforts in Korea and Russia (and perhaps Vancouver too). Gold was theirs for the taking in any of those years.

Staying in the conversation is the real accomplishment. Because lurking in the wings is the next set of hotshot teenagers.