Curling mixed doubles roll out The second Winter Olympic gold medal in history is fiercely competitive

With the appearance of Canada and Australia in the Ice Cube on February 3, all 10 teams in the curling mixed doubles competition of this Winter Olympics have appeared.

There will be 10 showdowns on the day. The Chinese team will play against Australia and the world powerhouse Sweden, which qualified for the Winter Olympics for the first time. Defending champions Canada will face England and Norway, with six other games being Sweden against the Czech Republic, the United States against Italy, Italy against Switzerland, the United States against Norway, Sweden against Great Britain and the Czech Republic against Australia.

Compared with the previous edition, the mixed doubles teams were expanded from 8 to 10 teams, equaling the traditional men's four and women's fours. The reason for this is not unrelated to the gradual popularity of the mixed doubles format.

Although the Mixed Doubles World Championships have been held since 2008, it was not until the last PyeongChang Winter Olympics that it became an official event. Before the mixed doubles event entered the Winter Olympics, various countries and regions mostly carried out four-person curling, did not pay much attention to mixed doubles competitions, and basically drew athletes from the four-person team to temporarily form teams to participate in mixed doubles competitions, so in the past there was many times when a curler and a four-person and mixed doubles competition appeared. Chinese players Wang Rui and Bade Xin, who participated in the mixed doubles competition at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, also drew a combination from the foursome to participate in the competition, hoping to open a breakthrough in the ice event, although they failed to achieve their wishes, but established the strategy of mixed doubles as a fist project.

The situation changed after the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Compared with the four-man race, the mixed doubles competition time is shorter, the attack and defense transition is faster, the competition is more intense, more ornamental, and more concerned and loved by curling enthusiasts. And because a team needs fewer members, it is easier to form a team to compete and it is more convenient to promote the project. So although only one Winter Olympic gold medal has been born so far, it seems to have opened up a new world, and all the curling powers have all stared at this gold medal and sent strong hands. In order to ensure concentration, most countries no longer allow athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics.

The mixed doubles competition of the Beijing Winter Olympics was a gathering of heroes, and the top four teams of the last Winter Olympics were all listed, and 5 of the 6 medalists appeared in the "Ice Cube". Defending champion Canada's male john Morris won the men's curling title with his teammates at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics before winning the mixed doubles gold medal at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Partner Rachel Hohman is a famous Canadian athlete who won the 2017 Women's Curling World Championships and finished 6th in the women's competition at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Runners-up Jeanne Pyrett and Martin Rios of Switzerland and the couple of bronze team Norway, Kristen Skarsien and Magnus Nedrigorton, all returned together. The fourth Place Chinese team participants have changed and adjusted, and Ling Zhi and Fan Suyuan are paired up to compete.

The Swedish team and the British team are both veteran teams. Although sweden made its debut in mixed doubles, it performed strongly in the four-a-side event, with the men's team winning bronze and silver medals in the past two Winter Olympics, the women's team winning 3 gold medals and 1 silver medal in the past four Winter Olympics, the Beijing cycle, winning the mixed doubles world championship in 2019 and directly qualifying for the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2021 with a third place result. The British team won the 2021 World Championship and went straight to Beijing. Australian mixed doubles players grabbed a ticket to the Beijing Winter Olympics through the Winter Olympic qualification tournament, becoming the first pair of players in Australian history to participate in the Winter Olympics.

On February 3, the curling mixed doubles competition will be fully launched, and the "Ice Cube" will continue to stage wonderful dramas.