2021 World Curling Championships: Sweden and Switzerland among teams to secure qualification for Beijing 2022
Check out which curling teams have qualified for Beijing 2022 and the main results and stories from the men's, women's and mixed doubles World Curling Championships in Canada and Scotland.
Curling
After all World Curling Championships were cancelled in 2020 due to the global pandemic, competition finally went ahead between April and May as nations battled to secure the first spots to compete in the curling competition at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
12 teams secured their spots in the men's and women's Olympic tournaments following the World Championships in Calgary, Canada, while seven Olympic mixed doubles places were confirmed at the mixed doubles tournament in Aberdeen, Scotland.
China, as hosts, receives an automatic qualification spot in the men's, women's and mixed team competition in Beijing.
Sweden's men secure the three-peat
- Date of the World Men's Curling Championships: April 2 to April 11, 2021.
- Where: Canada Olympic Park, Calgary, Canada.
- Podium: Sweden (gold), Scotland (silver), Switzerland (bronze).
- Qualified teams for Beijing 2022: Sweden, Great Britain (qualified by Scotland), Switzerland, Russian Curling Federation, United States, Canada and China (as host country).
The Swedish team, skipped by two-time Olympic medallist and five-time world champion Niklas Edin, won their third consecutive World Championships, cementing their position as favourites for gold at Beijing 2022.
Sweden became the first country other than the 36-time world champion Canada to win three men's titles in a row. The two nations have dominated the last 11 editions of the World Championships, with Norway breaking up the party (briefly) with a win of their own in 2014. Given their recent performances, the Swedes look in great shape to win their long-awaited first Olympic gold medal in the men's curling competition at Beijing 2022.
“It was probably the toughest field ever at a World Championship. […] We were in really good form after winning the Worlds two years ago, and we were super pumped up and eager to play in the Worlds last year and when that got shut down. We didn’t really know if we were still that good [this year]. We are super confident normally going into events like this, but we couldn’t really know if our form and will to win was still the same, so I think winning this one feels unreal.”
- Niklas Edin (SWE) on becoming the first skip to be a 5-time world champion, speaking to worldcurling.org
With their best performance in the World Championships since winning silver in 2012, runners-up Scotland, skipped by Bruce Mouat, qualified Great Britain for Beijing 2022. Led by Peter de Cruz, Switzerland won bronze, repeating their result from PyeongChang 2018 and proving that they remain a strong candidate to medal once again in Beijing. The Swiss squad beat the United States - the reigning Olympic champions - in the play-off stage.
The surprise of the competition was the Russian Curling Federation coming in fourth, while hosts Canada, the most successful nation in the history of the sport, failed to even make the semi-finals. However, the Canadians will get a chance at redemption in Beijing, as their qualification spot is secured.
Switzerland continues women's dominance
- Date of the World Championships: April 30 to May 9, 2021.
- Where: Canada Olympic Park, Calgary, Canada.
- Podium: Switzerland (gold), Russian Curling Federation (silver), United States (bronze).
- Qualified for Beijing 2022: Switzerland, Russian Curling Federation, United States, Sweden, Canada, Denmark and China (as host country).
World number 1 and three-time Olympic gold medallists Sweden had a sub-par competition at the championships (by their standards), finishing in fourth place. Yet while their finish came as a surprise to many, Switzerland's title triumph did not.
Skipped by Silvana Tirinzoni, the Swiss team won their second successive world title and sixth crown in the last nine editions of the competition. The question now becomes: Can they turn their success at the World Champions into Olympic gold?
Switzerland has won two silver medals in the women's competition at the Games (Salt Lake City 2002 and Turin 2006), but are still seeking that elusive gold medal.
As in the men's tournament, the Russian Curling Federation consolidated their status as candidates for a first Olympic medal in the sport by winning silver. Skip Anna Kovaleva, however, is not settling for second place.
“Yeah we’re happy [to win the silver medals], we worked a lot for this result, but next year we’re going for gold.”
- Anna Kovaleva (ROC), after winning silver in the World Championship, for worldcurling.org
Another team aiming for their first Olympic podium is the U.S. women's squad, having won their first medal at the Worlds since 2006, when they won silver.
Although they are guaranteed a berth at Beijing 2022, 17-time world champions Canada were not able to reach the semi-finals. In so doing, it marked just the third time in over 40 years that neither of Canada's national teams was able to make the finals of the World Championships in the men's and women's competition (since 1979, when the women's tournament started).
Denmark also secured qualification for Beijing 2022, meaning other strong nations including Scotland (representing Great Britain), South Korea (2018 Olympic silver medallists and ranked third in the world) and Japan (2018 Olympic bronze medallists) will have to battle it out at the Olympic qualification event in December for one of the remaining tickets to Beijing.
Scotland secures mixed title at home
- Date of the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championships: May 17 to May 23, 2021.
- Where: Curl Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland.
- Podium: Scotland (gold), Norway (silver), Sweden (bronze).
- Qualified teams for Beijing 2022: Great Britain (qualified by Scotland), Norway, Sweden, Canada, Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic and China (as host country).
Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat (GBR) won their first mixed doubles world title, with only one loss throughout the entire competition. Norwegian duo Kristin Skaslient and Magnus Nedregotten made the final a tight affair, with a measurement required in the final end to confirm the Scots' 9-7 victory.
With the three best pairs in each of the two groups of the round-robin stage qualifying for Beijing 2022, the nations in 4th place - the Czech Republic and the United States - had to face each other in a special Olympic qualification game. The Czechs beat the Americans 8-6 to earn the last Olympic slot available in the tournament. The final two spots in the mixed doubles curling competition at Beijing 2022 will be decided in December 2021.