Team Canada’s pursuit of Olympic glory at Milano Cortina 2026 will begin with Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant.

The married couple from Chestermere, Alta., will be the first Canadian athletes to compete at this year’s Winter Olympics in Italy as mixed doubles curling action begins Feb. 4 at the 70-year-old Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium two days before the Opening Ceremony.

Peterman and Gallant have been preparing for this moment for more than a year after winning the 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Trials in early January 2025, beating Rachel Homan and Brendan Bottcher in the final, 8-7.

“We’re feeling prepared,” Gallant told Bob Weeks in a recent episode of Rock Talk. “All of that time has created a nice bit of preparedness and the confident feeling that we’ve been able to check all the boxes over the last ninth months.”

They’ll be joined in Cortina D’Ampezzo by coach Laine Peters and national coach Scott Pfeifer.

The duo, who started playing mixed doubles together in 2016 before tying the knot in 2022, will look to get Canada back atop the podium in the discipline for the first time since 2018 when Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris captured gold at the inaugural mixed doubles Olympic tournament in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Homan and Morris missed the playoffs four years ago in Beijing after they were selected to represent Canada following the cancellation of the Trials due to COVID-19.

Peterman, 32, and Gallant, 35, have been one of the best mixed doubles teams domestically since joining forces a decade ago.

They won national titles together in 2016 and 2019, adding a silver medal in 2023 and bronze in 2024. On the world stage, Peterman and Gallant claimed silver in 2019 before finishing off the podium in 2022 and 2025 when they were upset by Estonia in the quarter-final.

Peterman and Gallant have had some impressive results over their short two-event schedule in 2025-26, winning a Moose Jaw bonspiel in December before making the final of a Sherwood Park mixed doubles event in mid-January, falling to a Japanese tandem.

Reaching the podium in Cortina will be no easy feat, however.

Italy’s Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner – the defending Olympic and world champions – will headline the event and will have plenty of support behind them as the host nation.

Great Britain’s Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat, who finished second at last year’s world championship, Sweden’s Isabella Wrana and Rasmus Wrana, Switzerland’s Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann and Yannick Schwaller, Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin of the United States, Estonia’s Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill as well as 2022 Olympic silver medallists Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten will all be medal contenders.

The 10-team field will be dwindled down to four playoff teams following round-robin play.

Peterman and Gallant both competed at the Beijing Olympics in 2022 with their former four-person teams. Peterman missed the playoffs while playing second for Jennifer Jones, while Gallant won bronze as a second for Team Brad Gushue.

“I’m really excited that it’s a ‘normal Games.’ Beijing was a little bit different with the pandemic,” explained Gallant. “We’re going to have our normal crew of family and friends that are going to be around us at the event as well. We’re used to having our parents and even our son now at these major events with us.”

Gallant will be a busy man in Italy.

The Charlottetown native will join Team Brad Jacobs for men’s curling action immediately after the mixed doubles competition comes to an end. Then it’s off to St. John’s, Nfld., for the 2026 Montana’s Brier as Team Jacobs will represent Canada after winning the national championship last season.

Gallant will be the first Canadian curler to play both mixed doubles and four-person curling in the same Olympics.

“Eat, sleep, curl,” said Gallant. “It is going to be busy, but at the same time, there’s nothing really I’d rather be doing. It’s what I love to do. It’s going to be a lot of fun.

“Younger Brett would find this really, really kind of cool that I’m getting to do this.”

Mixed doubles action concludes on Feb. 10 with the gold-medal game. Let’s take a closer look at Peterman and Gallant’s path to gold.

Czech Republic (Julie Zelingrová and Vít Chabičovský)

Feb. 4 at 1:05 p.m. ET

Canada begins pool play against the Czechs, who qualified for Milano Cortina 2026 in December via the last-chance qualification event in Kelowna, B.C.

They went 6-1 in round-robin play before defeating Australia’s Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt in the first qualifier to punch their ticket

Zelingrová, 19, and Chabičovský, 21, will be the youngest team in Cortina by a wide margin. Despite their young age, the duo has competed at three previous World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships, finishing with a 3-6 record each time.

Peterman and Gallant need to take care of business in their opener as it gets much tougher the rest of the way.

Norway (Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten)

Feb. 5 at 8:35 a.m. ET

Kristin Skaslien et Magnus Nedregotten Kristin Skaslien et Magnus Nedregotten

The tournament heats up for Peterman and Gallant on Day 2 when they take on long-time mixed doubles duo Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten of Norway.

Skaslien and Nedregotten claimed bronze at the 2018 Olympics and silver in 2022, dropping the final to Italy. They’ve also been to nine World Mixed Doubles Championships, owning a silver from 2021 and bronze medals from 2024 and 2015.

The Norwegians have far more mixed doubles reps this season in actual competitive events compared to Peterman and Gallant, so we’ll have to see if that makes a difference in this tournament matchup.

Italy (Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner)

Feb. 5 at 1:05 p.m. ET

Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner celebrate

Up next are the host Italians, arguably the best team in the field.

Constantini and Mosaner became national heroes four years ago when they posted a perfect 11-0 record to capture gold – Italy’s first Olympic medal in curling.

Mosaner stepped away from the mixed doubles game following their gold-medal triumph before teaming back up with Constantini at the 2025 World Mixed Doubles Championship.

It didn’t take long for the dynamic duo to regain their chemistry as once again they won all 11 games to earn the world title.

Both will also compete in four-person curling following mixed doubles.

Going by past results, the Italians should be considered the favourites in Cortina. The pressures of winning on home soil on the biggest stage is an added hurdle Constantini and Mosaner will have to manage to accomplish their dreams, however.

United States (Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin)

Feb. 6 at 4:05 a.m. ET

Korey Dropkin Korey Dropkin

Following a difficult two-game day against the Olympic finalists from Beijing, Canada takes on rival United States in their lone matchup on Feb. 6.

Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin have been teammates for this entire quadrennial and found instant success by winning the United States Mixed Doubles Championship and World Mixed Doubles Championship in 2023.

They defeated Sarah Anderson and Andrew Stopera in the final of the 2025 United States Mixed Doubles Trials last February to earn the right to compete for gold in Italy.

At the 2025 worlds, Thiesse and Dropkin made the playoffs before losing to Scotland in the quarterfinal. They doubled up Peterman and Gallant, 8-4, in the fifth-place game.

Thiesse and Dropkin have been red-hot in 2025-26, making the final in four of five events, highlighted by three victories.

This game should be a good one as there’s always a little extra juice in any athletic competition between these two neighbouring countries.

Great Britain (Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat)

Feb. 7 at 4:05 a.m. ET

Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat

Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat, who also skips the No. 1 team in men’s curling, are set to compete together for the second straight Olympic in mixed doubles.

In Beijing, the Scots, representing Great Britain, made the playoffs with a 6-3 record before falling to Norway in the semifinal and Sweden in the bronze medal game.

Dodds went on to capture gold in women’s curling, playing second for skip Eve Muirhead while Mouat settled for silver after losing to Sweden’s Team Niklas Edin in the final.

They also won gold at the 2021 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship and silver at last season’s worlds in Fredericton, N.B.

Dodds and Mouat defeated Peterman and Gallant, 8-7, in the round robin at last year’s world championship.

The Brits will be another game for the Canadians that could go either way.

Estonia (Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill)

Feb. 7 at 1:05 p.m. ET

Estonia’s mixed doubles specialists of Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill upset Peterman and Gallant, 7-5, in the quarter-final at last year’s World Mixed Doubles Championship.

Kaldvee and Lill have played in eight world championships during their long partnership with their best finish coming in 2024 when they lost to Sweden’s Isabella Wrana and Rasmus Wrana in the final. They also finished fourth at last year’s event in Fredericton.

The tandem, who have focused solely on the doubles game the past two seasons, won six Tour events last season, but haven’t reached the same form in 2025-26. Kaldvee and Lill don’t have any final appearances this season, only qualifying for the playoffs in three of 10 events.

Kaldvee and Lill’s lack of results entering the Winter Olympics is a concern, but if they can find some of what they had last season, Estonia could be a dark horse in Italy.

Milano Cortina 2026 will mark Estonia’s Olympic curling debut.

Sweden (Isabella Wranå and Rasmus Wranå)

Feb. 8 at 8:35 a.m. ET

The sister and brother duo of Isabella and Rasmus Wrana will represent Sweden at the Winter Olympics.

This will be first Olympics for 28-year-old Isabella, who skips the women’s team that will represent Sweden at this year’s World Women’s Curling Championship.

Milano Cortina 2026 is the third Olympic appearance for 31-year-old Rasmus, second for Team Niklas Edin who captured gold at the 2022 Olympics and silver in 2018.

Rasmus Wrana is also a five-time world champion with Team Edin.

The Wranas won gold at the 2024 World Mixed Doubles Championship in Östersund, Sweden.

The Swedes are another tandem that have the talent to make a run for the podium in Italy.

South Korea (Seon-yeong Kim and Yeong-seok Jeong)

Feb. 8 at 1:05 p.m. ET

Canada should be the favourites in their penultimate round-robin game against South Korea.

Seon-yeong Kim has attended the two previous Olympics as a member of Eun-jung Kim’s rink, most notably capturing silver on home soil in 2018. This will be her first foray into Olympic mixed doubles.

Yeong-seok Jeong will make his Olympic debut in Italy.

They were the final team to book their spot at the last chance Olympic Qualification Event in mid-December. The duo also won their first South Korea Mixed Doubles Championship in July after two previous bronze medal performances.

Playing against a stacked field, South Korea will likely be in tough to make the playoffs.

Switzerland (Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann and Yannick Schwaller)

Feb. 9 at 4:05 a.m. ET

Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann and Yannick Schwaller will make their Olympic debuts together in Italy.

The husband-and-wife Swiss duo competed at back-to-back World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships, finishing fourth in their most recent appearance in 2024.

Schwaller, 30, will also skip the men’s Swiss team in Cortina.

The Schwallers have two quarterfinal showings across four events this season.

Like their matchup against South Korea, Canada will be the favourites against Switzerland and might need a win in both contests to secure a playoff spot depending how the meat of their schedule turns out.

Mixed Doubles Semifinals

Feb. 9 at 12:05 p.m. ET

Mixed Doubles Bronze-Medal Game

Feb. 10 at 8:05 a.m. ET

Mixed Doubles Gold-Medal Game

Feb. 10 at 12:05 p.m. ET