The mixed tournament of Curling 2018 during the 2018 Winter Olympics was held on 8-13 February 2018 in the Gangneung Curling Centre. With 8 pairs competing, the event was won by Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris from Canada, with Jenny Perret and Martin Rios from Switzerland taking the silver medal and Magnus Nedregotten and Kristin Skaslien from Norway taking bronze.
Format[]
The competition exists out of a single round-robin, each team playing another once, with standings based on win/loss-record. The top four ranked teams advance to the semifinals, with the winners advancing to the final. The winner of the final wins the event.
Preview[]
Eight pairs qualified for the event that made its Olympic debut. Based on the qualification, a cumulation of points won at previous two World Championships, China, consisting out of Ba and Wang, would top the leaderboard, with Canada, represented by Lawes and Morris, coming second, and the Olympic Athletes from Russia (Bryzgalova and Krushelnitckii) coming third. However, the Swiss team of Perret and Rios proved to be strong, winning the 2017 World Championship, while not having competed in 2016.
The youngest team of Jang Hye-ji and Lee Ki-jeong were the only two competitors below the age of 25, while Tomi Rantamaki was almost 30 years older than the youngest Jang, and more than 10 years older than second-oldest John Morris. Morris was only one of three athletes to have made their Olympic debut before 2018, with Kaitlyn Lawes and Ba Dexin being the only other two, Ba being the only one out of the three not to have won a medal before. The event made its Olympic debut, thus no reigning medalists in the event yet.
Summary[]
Round robin[]
Round 1[]
The first four games saw a strong American team defeat the Olympic Athletes from Russia with an end to spare, both curlers achieving a success throwing rate of over 80%. In a balanced game between Canada and Norway, the latter got the only steal in the seventh end, securing their victory, and the Korean team surprised with a big victory over Finland, with seven points total in the first and seventh end. Two favorites, in China and Switzerland, squared off against each other, the latter taking the win after an extra end, after a smart play in the ninth end.
Round 2[]
The second round included a relatively one-sided game between Finland and Switzerland, only to be decided in the eighth end, after Oona Kauste missed her stone, an exhilarating game between South Korea and China was decided in an extra end, after South Korea came back from 1 - 6 behind, and the Olympic Athletes from Russia got their first win against Norway. In the fourth match, John Morris carried the Canadian team to victory against the strong Americans, with a 92% success throw rate.
Round 3[]
In the third session, Norway took a quick lead against South Korea, being able to finish the game the seventh end, and Switzerland won against the United States, scoring six stones in the eighth inning. In a long-awaited game between China and Canada, the latter team dominated, scoring seven stones in the first three ends. In the final game, the Olympic Athletes from Russia and Finland set up a close encounter, ultimately the advantage with the Olympic Athletes from Russia.
Round 4[]
The fourth round had favorite Canada against Finland, which was the only team to have lost all three previous games. Although it seemed like the scores would be low, Canada scoring 5 stones in the sixth end confirmed another loss for Finland. Another game, between the Olympic Athletes from Russia and China, had the latter come back from three stones down, ultimately forcing an extra end. However, Bryzgalova and Krushelnitchii still walked away with the win, scoring a single stone in the extra end. In the remaining games, the United States played their worst game yet, losing in the sixth end against South Korea, while Switzerland lost for the first time, with Norway having one last push to score an ultimate stone.
Round 5[]
In the fifth round, China was able to grasp victory against the United States in a close game, while Finland was the first team to be eliminated, losing against top-ranked Norway in an extra end. After a good start of the tournament, Switzerland lost for the second time in a row, losing in the sixth end against a strong Canada, while the Olympic Athletes from Russia won for the second time in a row after an extra end, this time against South Korea.
Round 6[]
With two out of three top-ranked teams playing against each other, the Olympic Athletes from Russia suffered their second defeat, losing against Canada after the sixth end, with Canada taking the top spot in the round robin. Switzerland sought revenge against South Korea, ending their negative streak, but also ending the home country's hope for a medal in this event. The United States surprised Norway with a large win, but due to Switzerland winning, their chances of going to the semifinals were also down to nothing. In the last game, China kept its chances alive, winning against a winless Finland.
Round 7[]
The last round of the round robin had Norway against China for a place in the semifinals. With China scoring five stones in the sixth end, their chances were kept alive, depending on the result of Switzerland, which scored three stones in the last end to win with a 1-point difference, advancing to the semifinals themselves. In the remaining two games, Finland got their first win, against already eliminated United States, while Canada scored a comfortable win against the home country South Korea.
Tie-break[]
Because of the result between China and Canada in the last round of the round robin, both teams were assigned to the tie-break, in which both teams had to play each other again. With both teams keeping their ends, Norway ultimately had the advantage, scoring four stones in the sixth end to retain a small lead until the end.
| Tiebreak
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Result
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Result
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 China
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7
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9
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Norway
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Semifinals[]
Canada vs Norway[]
With Canada only losing the first game of the tournament (against Norway), the tables were turned this time, with Canada taking the lead, and Norway trying to catch up. Magnus Nedregotten only had a 65% success throw rate, and couldn't prevent the team from losing the semifinals.
Olympic Athletes from Russia vs Switzerland[]
The Olympic Athletes from Russia and Switzerland competed in a balanced game, with a plethora of stalemates after every few ends. In the seventh end, with a Swiss power play, and Switzerland winning two points, the Olympic Athletes from Russia failed to catch up in the next end, their power play resulting in a break instead.
Finals[]
Canada vs Switzerland[]
In the final between two favorites Canada and Switzerland, the former had the best start. With a score of six points after three ends, the Swiss had difficulties catching up, with Canada walking away with the big victory after only six ends, even improving on their dominance against the Swiss in the round robin, becoming the first Olympic champions in mixed doubles curling ever.
| Final
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Result
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Result
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| Canada
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10
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3
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Switzerland
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Olympic Athletes from Russia vs Norway[]
The number of matches paid their toll on the Norwegian team, with two matches in a row with low shot success rates. The Russians played for the low scores per end, walking away with an 8 - 4 win, despite only scoring three points in the last four ends. A week after the bronze medal match, the team of Olympic Athletes from Russia was disqualified due to a doping violation, pushing Norway up to the bronze medal, and China to fourth place instead.
| Bronze medal match
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Result
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Result
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| Olympic Athletes from Russia
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8
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4?
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Norway
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Results[]
The Canadese team won the inaugural edition of the mixed event, with Kaitlyn Lawes winning her second gold medal, after winning the women's tournament in 2014, and John Morris also winning his second Olympic title, after winning gold in the men's tournament in 2010. The Swiss team had Jenny Perret, who would also participate in the women's tournament, and Martin Rios, who also made his Olympic debut. After the team from the Olympic Athletes from Russia was disqualified, the Norwegian claimed the bronze medal.
United States
Olympic Athletes from Russia
Canada
Norway
South Korea
Finland
China
Switzerland
