Curling is the earliest, longest spanning and most numerous events at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. In the mixed doubles event, a total of 10 teams will perform a spectacular duel at the National Aquatics Center.
How strong is the Chinese team in this project? What exactly is the origin of the other 9 teams? What kind of relationship and story do they have between them? Let's take a look.
Highlights:
The Chinese team's first match was against the Pyeongchang enemy Swiss team four years ago
Australia and Canada will stage a master-apprentice showdown
Canadian star Homan is looking forward to getting out of the darkest moments of his life
China Team (Source: Beiti Media Guan Zihao)
China Team Fan Suyuan/Ling Zhi
The Chinese team selected athletes in this cycle through the data of individual performance and winning rate, comprehensively calculated the score, and the selection competition began on November 25, 2021, after six consecutive weeks of competition, Fan Suyuan and Ling Zhi were finally selected into the Beijing Winter Olympic team.
The two began to form in the third week of the selection and spent less than three months together, but the two had previously focused on mixed doubles respectively. Ling Zhi has participated in major events such as the World Youth Championship and the World Cup, and has partnered with Yang Ying to win the ninth place in the 2021 Mixed Doubles Curling World Championships. Fan Suyuan teamed up with Nan Jiawen to finish second in the CURLING Tour ISS Mixed Doubles and Brantford Mixed Doubles.
Ling Zhi was born on April 6, 1994, joined the Harbin team in 2009, joined the Beijing team in 2016, and began to focus on the mixed doubles project in 2019, loving fitness and watching movies, he once said that curling is the character of beating people, and mixed doubles curling is more able to show personal ability.
Fan Suyuan was born on August 1, 1996, from the speed skating project to the curling project, the choice of curling is largely because Wang Bingyu led the Chinese women's curling team to win the championship in 2009 was touched, like Hanfu, according to family reveals that her Hanfu is piled up in the house, the reason for liking Hanfu is also because she hopes to understand and spread Chinese culture.
The Australian team
Australian team Tahli Gill/Dean Hewitt
The Australian curling team is the first official winter Olympic competition, having previously participated in 13 mixed doubles world championships and one Olympic defeat. A total of 109 matches, 47 wins, 62 losses. Australia's mixed doubles best was 4th place at the 2019 World Championships. Australia is currently ranked 14th in the world.
Tahli Gill was born on 8 September 1999 as a student, after Tahli Gill formed a women's curling team with his mother and sisters to represent Australia at the Pan Pacific Curling Championship.
Born on November 9, 1994, Dean Hewit majored in exercise physiology, and has competed with his parents in mixed, boy's and mixed doubles competitions, and teamed up with his mother to participate in the 2017 and 2018 mixed doubles curling championships.
In the 2018-2019 season, the duo began focusing on mixed curling and finished second at the 2019 New Zealand Winter Games. In 2021, the two hired Canadian Winter Olympic champion John Morris as their coach and successfully seized the last chance to move into Beijing.
Team Canada
Canada team Rachel Homan/John Morris
The Canadian team won the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, and the mixed doubles selection competition was suspended due to the epidemic, and the Rachel Homan/John Morris combination was directly assigned to participate. Canada, as the defending champion of this Winter Olympics, is still a favorite champion. Canada has been better at the four-man team competition, in a dominant position, in the mixed doubles event Canada team participated in a total of 12 mixed doubles world championships, the best result is only silver medal. The Canadian mixed doubles team has played 164 games in 12 World Championships, 1 Olympic Games and 1 World Cup, with 122 wins and 42 defeats. It is now ranked No. 1 in the world.
Born on April 5, 1989, Rachel Homan is a professional curler who has focused on the four-a-side event, but her team did not qualify for the Winter Olympics this cycle, and is best known for leading her team to win 13 consecutive victories at the 2017 Women's World Championships in Beijing, but at the same time, the team she led only finished sixth at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and became the worst in history. Canada is known as the "Curling Kingdom", the Canadian masses are very dissatisfied with this achievement, to know that the Canadian team has medals in the Winter Olympics before, Homan's pressure can be imagined. This time, Homan has come to Beijing, the blessed land where the World Championships have won, can he be shamed?
Born on December 16, 1978 as a firefighter in addition to curling, John Morris was a third baseman for Canadian curling star Koe, who won the men's gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics and the mixed doubles gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Morris PyeongChang's gold-winning partner was Jones team's third baselaws, but this time the game changed teammates, the Canadian crowd was full of buzz, and he will also carry the pressure of the defending champion and teammate controversy.
The team is currently ranked 17th in the world.
Czech team
Czech team Zuzana Paulová/Tomá Paul
The Czech curling team competed in the Winter Olympics for the first time, having previously participated in 13 mixed doubles world championships. A total of 117 games, 73 wins, 44 losses. The best result in the Czech mixed doubles was the bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships. The Czech Republic is currently ranked 10th in the world.
Zuzana Paulová was born on January 28, 1993, Tomá Paul was born on April 3, 1988, Zuzana Paulová and Tomá Paul were both team players in their teenage years, and in 2013, the two had just partnered together to achieve a bronze medal at the World Championships, which also determined their focus on mixed doubles. The 2017 World Championships two broke into the final four, but the points were not enough to let them go to PyeongChang, and the 2021 World Championships finally made them both realize their Olympic dreams.
The British team
Brits Jennifer Dodds/Bruce Mouat
Scotland, the land of curling, was ranked in the points rankings at the last time it hit Pyeongchang, and this Olympic Games relied on the champions of the 2021 World Championships to make a strong entry. Scotland has competed in 12 mixed doubles world championships with a total of 110 games, winning 77 and losing 33. Scotland is currently ranked 7th in the world.
Jennifer Dodds was born on October 1, 1991 as a clerk and assistant, and she was the second baseman of the four-person team of Muirhead. Bruce Mouat was born on August 27, 1994, and he captained his own four-man tournament. The two have achieved a relatively good result in the team competition, and Bruce Mouat and Gina Aitken have teamed up to participate in four mixed doubles curling world championships and reached the final four in 2016. The two teamed up in their first World Championships and won the championship, and they are also strong contenders for gold medals at the Beijing Winter Olympics. The two teamed up to play a total of 11 world championships, with 10 wins and 1 loss. There is currently no world ranking for the team.
Italy team
Italy team Stefania Constantini/Amos Mosaner
The Mixed Doubles event was the first time to participate in the Winter Olympics, after participating in 13 Mixed Doubles World Championships and 1 World Championship qualifier, with a total of 118 matches, 66 wins and 52 losses. Italy is currently ranked 13th in the world.
Born on April 15, 1999, Stefania Constantini is a clerk at a sports brand who captains the four-person event. Amos Mosaner was born on March 12, 1995 as a farmer and worked as a third baseman in a group project. The best result of the two is 5th place at the 2021 Mixed Doubles Curling World Championships.
Amos Mosaner competed with Alice Cobelli at the 2019 Mixed Doubles Curling World Championships in 2019, then teamed up with Stefania Constantini to reach the quarterfinals at the 2021 Mixed Doubles Curling World Championships, finishing fifth and getting Olympic tickets for Italy.
The two teamed up to play a total of 10 games at the World Championships, winning 7 and losing 3. The team is currently ranked 25th in the world.
Norwegian team
Norway's Kristin Moen Skaslien/Magnus Nedregotten
This is the second time that Norway has been shortlisted for the Olympic Games, and since the 2008 Mixed Doubles Curling World Championships, Norway has participated in 12 editions, the first time reaching the final four, and since 2013, it has entered the knockout stage for 8 consecutive years. Norway has played 153 Games in the Winter Olympics, World Championships and World Cups, winning 104 games and losing 49 games. Norway is currently ranked 2nd in the world.
Kristin Moen Skaslien was born on January 18, 1986, and Magnus Nedregotten was born on October 24, 1990. The duo won a number of top three international competitions, namely the bronze medal at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the 2019 World Cup Finals, the silver medal at the 2021 Mixed Doubles Curling World Championships and the bronze medal at the 2015 Mixed Doubles Curling World Championships.
Kristin Moen Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten began dating in 2012 and began teaming up to compete in the Mixed Doubles Curling World Championships in 2013, having participated in 7 World Championships, 1 Olympic Games and 1 World Cup so far. The two also had to work part-time to play team matches when there were no mixed doubles events.
The two teamed up to participate in a total of 110 world championships, Olympic Games and World Cups, winning 83 games and losing 27 games, and currently ranks first in the world.
Sweden team
Sweden team Almida de Val/Oskar Eriksson
Sweden's previous best result at the Mixed Doubles World Championships was second place created by Per Noréen and Camilla Johansson, who have joined the World Championships six times, but due to the impact of mixed doubles entry, this small event has become increasingly competitive, resulting in them not getting a place for Sweden at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Oscar Eriksson and Anna Hasselborg teamed up at the 2019 Mixed Doubles World Championships to win Sweden's first mixed doubles world championship gold medal. Sweden has competed in 12 Mixed Doubles World Championships and one Curling World Cup, with a total of 141 games, 97 wins and 44 losses. Sweden is now ranked 4th in the world.
Almida de Val was born on September 12, 1997, playing first base in a four-man team, oskar Eriksson was born on May 29, 1991, played third base in the famous Edin team, and won the Mixed Doubles World Championships with Anna Hasselborg in 2019. The pair's current best result is the bronze medal at the 2021 Mixed Doubles Curling World Championships.
As Anna Hasselborg had to focus on team competition, Oskar Eriksson partnered with Almida de Val in the new season, and the two qualified for the group in a wave of consecutive victories at the World Championships, losing to Norway in the final four, but beating Canada in the bronze medal to take the podium. Compared with the mixed doubles, the performance of the two in the team competition is more prominent.
Since the two teamed up, they have participated in a total of 11 world championships and winter Olympics, with 10 wins and 1 loss. The duo are currently ranked 32nd in the world.
Swiss team
Swiss team Jenny Perret/Martin Rios
Switzerland has always been a mixed doubles powerhouse, winning seven gold medals at 13 World Championships so far, five of which have been won all-outs. And a group of mixed doubles players have emerged. Switzerland has participated in 13 World Championships, 1 Olympic Games and 1 Curling World Cup, with a total of 158 matches, 124 wins and 34 defeats. Switzerland is currently ranked No. 2 in the world.
Jenny Perret was born on December 23, 1991, and Martin Rios was born on May 24, 1981. The duo won the silver medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang and the 2017 Mixed Doubles World Championships.
After the two joined forces in the 2016-2017 season, they won the Mixed Doubles World Championships and helped Switzerland get tickets to Pyeongchang. In Pyeongchang that year, the two won the Olympic silver medal again, and were the most successful professional mixed doubles athletes at that time, but in the new Olympic cycle, the performance of the two was not satisfactory, although they entered Beijing, but the two had not won the tour championship with high gold content for two seasons.
The two teamed up to participate in a total of 54 world championships, World Cups and Olympic Games, winning 37 games and losing 17 games. It is currently ranked 3rd in the world.
At the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the Wang Rui/Badexin combination was in the first game with the pair in the final round of the controversy pot, lost the game, and finally almost a victory failed to advance to the rematch, and almost failed to stand on the podium. The chinese team's opponent in the first round of this competition is still The Swiss team.
Team USA
Team USA Vicky Persinger/Chris Plys
The U.S. team has been in a tepid state in the mixed doubles event, 13 world championships, 11 times can break into the knockout stage, but the biggest breakthrough is to win the bronze medal in 2019. The United States participated in 13 World Championships, 1 Winter Olympics, 1 World Cup and 1 Olympic Defeat, a total of 155 games, 100 wins, and 55 losses. The United States is currently ranked No. 5 in the world.
Vicky Persinger was born on June 1, 1992 as an IT manager, and Chris Plys was born on August 13, 1987. Vicky Persinger and Chris Plys began to form in the 2018-2019 season, but never played a national tournament. This season, the two men first won the U.S. Mixed Doubles World Championships Trials, then won the Winter Olympics Trials, got the opportunity to represent the United States in the Winter Olympic Qualification Tournament, and got tickets to Beijing at the last minute.
The two teamed up to participate in a total of 7 Olympic games and won all of them. The duo are currently ranked 16th in the duo.