It feels like it’s Canada against the world in curling at the Winter Olympics.
In a 24-hour span, curling has become the talk of Milano Cortina 2026, and not because of fantastic shots being made, but instead, a controversy that just keeps getting bigger.
And, of course, it’s all centred around Canadian teams Rachel Homan and Brad Jacobs.
During the first end of Homan’s game versus Switzerland on Saturday – which Homan lost 8-7 in an extra end to drop their record to 1-3, basically putting them on the brink of elimination – Homan had a rock removed. She went to release her first stone of the game but after it landed in the house, an official came over and said the rock needed to come off the playing surface because of a double touch.
Homan couldn’t believe it.
“Like absolutely not,” Homan said on mics picked up by the broadcast. “Zero per cent chance (she double-touched the rock).”
The officials kept insisting she did.
“I’ve never done it in my life,” said Homan.
Eventually the rock was pulled off the ice by the officials. Homan was left an open draw for one with her last stone and made the draw. She had words for the officials afterwards.
“It’s the same throw as my (first) one, it’s unreal.”
Homan showed just how mentally tough she is as she never let it affect her attitude for the rest of the game, battling until Alina Paetz made a beautiful draw in the extra end to win.
After the game, it was a different story.
“Yea it’s frustrating, the officials getting into the game that they have no business getting into, and, yeah, it’s frustrating when there’s nothing to even look for,” Homan told CBC Olympics after the game. “Obviously it rattles you and we fought hard and we lost in an extra by one point. It’s just a shame that had to happen.”
“They said I touched the stone after I let it go, which is so far from the truth, it’s crazy. Just making something up, I don’t know. We have the Maple Leaf on our back, I’m not sure.”
The only reason an official was standing watching in the first place was because Sweden’s Team Niklas Edin had accused Canada’s Team Jacobs of cheating earlier in the day. Specifically, Marc Kennedy, who Edin’s third Oskar Eriksson called out for double touching the rock after the hog line.
Because of that, World Curling put out a statement and decided for the remainder of both the men’s and women’s tournaments officials would be watching closer for any more double touches of the rock past the hog line.
“During forward motion, touching the granite of the stone is not allowed, this will result in the stone being removed from play.”
Or, better known as rule R.5 (d)
“The curling stone must be delivered using the handle of the stone.”
Either way, this is becoming too big a distraction for both Canadian rinks in their pursuit of a gold medal – something Canada hasn’t earned in either the men’s or women’s disciplines since 2014.
For Homan, there is no room for a ‘bad game’ or, even a “bad end” anymore. She was the heavy favourite to win the gold medal coming in, and has been unquestionably the best team in the world the last three seasons.
Going forward, Homan and her team need to reset, not think about all the outside noise, and do what they do best. Destroy everyone.
And she knows it’s in there.
“I thought we had a great game, we play like that, we will be in the mix at the end.”
Jacobs needs to follow suit
It’s the same thing for Jacobs.
After dropping their first game of the tournament against Switzerland on Saturday, Jacobs was asked not about the game itself, but whether the situation from the game with Sweden was on their minds.
“I don’t think whatever went on last night affected anybody’s performance out there on our team,” Jacobs said in an interview aired on CBC Olympics.
He’s not wrong, they didn’t play bad, they just played against a team that couldn’t miss.
However, after the game, Kennedy decided to bring the situation back into the forefront and accused Sweden of planting someone in the crowd to videotape the hog line.
Listen, Kennedy defending himself for being accused of cheating is understandable, anyone would defend their pride.
But now, how does this help?
Even if they did do that, World Curling had already said the situation was dealt with and neither team cheated, putting it to rest so Canada could focus on their games ahead.
And that is what needs to happen. They’re in a great spot. Sitting at 3-1 and have the chance to continue their strong play to reach the playoffs and potentially earn a medal.
If this keeps being the topic of conversation, however, it could cost them everything.
Yes, Switzerland’s Team Schwaller is really THAT good
For new curling fans, Canada losing to Switzerland’s Team Yannick Schwaller might be a shock, but for long-time followers of the sport, they know this Swiss team is no joke.
The world-ranked No. 2 team put on a clinic against Canada on Saturday, even Jacobs knows it.
“Switzerland kicked our butt,” Jacobs said in an interview shown by CBC Olympics.
They dominated play the whole game as each end they had hammer, they got a deuce (except for the ninth when they weren’t trying for two, they just wanted to win the game). Without the last rock, they forced Jacobs to take one in three of the four ends.
In short, the ‘math was mathing’ for Switzerland.
“You know, they outplayed us, they made a lot of great shots,” Jacobs said. “You take a look at some of the shots they were making… I heard through my ears, some of the shots they (Switzerland) were coming up with, they (Switzerland’s coaches) were even pretty impressed with.”
As a team, the Swiss shot an absurd 92 per cent. It felt like they couldn’t miss, especially Benoit Schwarz-van Berkel, who throws fourth stones for Schwaller. He shot 97 per cent. Funny, but scary part, that only tied his second-best performance through four games. He shot 100 per cent vs. Czechia.
It’s not like these performances are coming out of left field, either. This Swiss team has played great all season and even earned their first Grand Slam of Curling title in December.
But they seem to be peaking at exactly the right time, and it very well could end up earning them gold.
Olympic curling continues Sunday starting at 3:05 a.m. ET/ 12:05 a.m. PT. After two busy days on the ice, both Canadian teams will have a lighter schedule.
Homan will be idle while Jacobs will play just one game against China’s Xu Xiaoming at 1:05 p.m. ET/ 10:05 a.m. PT.
Each team will play nine round-robin games and the top four teams will advance to the semifinals.
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