Canada beats Switzerland in Olympic mixed doubles curling finale

After five straight losses, Canada’s Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant finally were on the right side of the inch on Monday. 

In the final round-robin draw, the Canadians beat Switzerland’s married couple, Briar Schwaller-Huerlimann and Yannick Schwaller, 8-4 to finish their week at the Winter Olympics at 4-5. 

Despite being eliminated from playoff contention before the game, it was clear this was still important for the Canadian husband-and-wife.

“You never want to dog it or not bring your best when you’re wearing the Maple Leaf,” Peterman said afterward, per Curling Canada. “So we wanted to do that today and finish on a win and we’re proud of that.”

After Canada had stolen one in the first end, Schwaller’s flash on the two Canadian stones in the second end made it easy for Canada to steal again. 

Peterman just needed to throw a guard, blocking the draw path for Schwaller-Huerlimann, leading to Canada stealing two more for a 3-0 lead.

In the fifth end, while on the power play, Schwaller-Huerlimann had a hog-line violation with her last stone, giving Canada another steal to lead 5-2.

Peterman sealed the win in the seventh end with a quiet-weight, come-around hit for three, extending Canada's lead to 8-4.

It’s the second straight Olympics where Canada will not be in the playoffs for mixed doubles after Rachel Homan and John Morris also missed in 2022. Kaitlyn Lawes and Morris won gold in the event back in 2018, the first year mixed doubles was in the Olympics.

Elsewhere in Draw 13, Italy edged out the U.S. 7-6, Norway defeated South Korea 8-5 and Czechia beat Estonia 8-4.

With round-robin play now finished, the semifinals are set for later today at 12:05 p.m. ET / 9:05 a.m. PT.

Great Britain will face Sweden, while Italy and the U.S. will face each other for the second time Monday.

Canada will be back on the ice to start its quest for gold in both the men’s and women’s disciplines starting Wednesday.