Everything you need to know about the top Curling nations

Which nation comes to mind when you think about the sport of curling?

You might think about beautiful Scotland, where the sport is thought to have been created in the 16th century. Or you may turn your mind to countries with a rich winter sports history, such as Canada, Switzerland or the Scandinavian countries. And none of those thoughts would be wrong.

Now, with the European Championships taking place in Lillehammer (20-27 November) at the same time as the Canadian Curling Trials in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (20-28 November) – a competition that will be used as an Olympic qualifying event for Canadian curlers, it’s the perfect moment to look at the nations that have traditionally thrived in international competition and those to watch out for at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.

Curling as an Olympic sport

While curling first made its Olympic debut close to 100 years ago, the bulk of its Olympic history has been written over the past quarter of a century. The men’s Olympic curling competition first took place at Chamonix 1924, however, fans would have to wait until Nagano 1998 for it to make a second appearance at the Games. The women’s event made its debut at the 1998 Games in Japan, while the mixed doubles event first took place at PyeongChang 2018.

However, since 1998, some nations have produced teams that have gone on to have great success on the Olympic stage and beyond. Here's a look at some of the top nations in curling history.

Almighty Canada

• World ranking: 3rd (M), 5th (W), 1st (MD)
• Olympics: 11 medals (6 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)
• World Championships: 36 (M), 17 (W), 2 (MD)

Canada is the most successful team in the history of curling. Whether in the women’s or men’s events, at the Olympics or the World Championships, the Canadians have traditionally been the strongest nation. Right now, things are different as they do not hold the status of world number one, except in the mixed doubles, the event they won at the 2018 Olympics.

After winning their first world title in 1959, the men’s team earned six crowns in a row - a feat no team has replicated since. They now have 36 world titles to their name, with the last one won in 2017.

The Canadian women’s team is also historically the most successful, with 17 world titles - the last won in 2018. However, more recently this historic strength has come into question, as neither the men’s or women’s team made it onto the podium at the latest edition of the World Championships, held on home soil in 2021.

At the Olympics, the men’s team had always finished within the top three since 1998 (two silvers, followed by three golds) but lost to Switzerland in the third-place match at PyeongChang 2018. The women were in the same situation (two golds, one silver, two bronzes) after five Olympic editions but couldn’t make it past the first round in 2018.

Kevin Martin and Jennifer Jones are often mentioned as the greatest curlers in Canadian history. They each have one Olympic gold medal, as well as two world titles for Jones and one for Martin.

Sweden are world number one

• World ranking: 1st (M), 1st (W), 4th (MD)
• Olympics: 8 medals (3 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)
• World Championships: 10 (M), 8 (W), 1 (MD)
• European Championships: 12 (M), 21 (W)

Sweden's men’s and women’s teams, currently ranked number one in the world, are the Olympic runners-up and champions, respectively. Sweden’s women’s team are also double European champions but have not won the world title since 2011.

In 2006, Anette Norberg became the first skip (team captain) in history to defend her Olympic title (2006, 2010), a feat Anna Hasselborg will hope to repeat at Beijing 2022. In 2019, the latter became the first curler in history to hold the Olympic, European and mixed doubles world titles simultaneously.

The men’s team are three-time world champions and have won six of the last eight European Championships. Skip Niklas Edin leads the team and has no less than two Olympic medals (silver and bronze), five world titles and seven European titles to his name.

However, the one medal missing from his trophy cabinet is Olympic gold. While Sweden’s men’s team has never won Olympic gold, their female counterparts have won three from the last four editions (2006, 2010, 2018) as well as silver in 2014.

READ ALSO: Anette Norberg, the natural-born skip with a golden record

Switzerland not far off the top

• World ranking: 2nd (H), 2nd (W), 2nd (MD)
• Olympics: 7 medals (1 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze)
• World Championships: 3 (M), 8 (W), 7 (MD)
• European Championships: 8 (M), 6 (W)

If Sweden’s women have failed to win a world title since 2011, the reason may lay at the feet of Switzerland, who now have as many world titles as Sweden (eight) after winning six of the last nine on offer. However, in Olympic competition, the Swiss team have won only two silver medals, in 2002 and 2006. 

The men’s team won the Olympic title at Nagano 1998, led by skip Patrik Lörtscher. However, on the world stage, their last title dates back to 1992. They have, however, finished in third place on numerous occasions: they won bronze four times at the last seven Worlds and three times in the last five Olympic competitions. At the European Championships, they last triumphed in 2013, having also finished runners-up twice and third on three occasions since.

What about Team GB?

• World ranking: 5th (M), 8th (W), 7th (MD)
• Olympics: 4 medals (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
• World Championships: 5 (M), 2 (W), 1 (MD)
• European Championships: 13 (M), 3 (W)

Scotland’s domination of the sport of curling is such that it seems like an anomaly that Team GB has only ever won four Olympic medals in their history. Curling is thought to have been invented in Scotland and a majority of British curlers come from Rabbie Burns’ nation.

Scotsmen have been crowned world champions five times after competing in 26 World Championship finals. The Scottish women have two world titles to their names from six finals.

After winning gold at Chamonix 1924, Britain's men’s curlers had to wait until 2014 to finally put their hand on a medal: silver at Sochi. The women were crowned champions in 2002 before winning bronze at Sochi 2014. Eve Muirhead and her teammates finished fourth at PyeongChang and, after disappointing at the 2021 World Championships, they will attempt to qualify for Beijing 2022 in December at the OQT in Leeuwarden (Netherlands). Their male counterparts, with Scottish skip Bruce Mouat, have already qualified.

Emerging countries

Canada, Sweden, Switzerland and Scotland have shared all the men’s world titles since 1979, other than four won by Norway (the last in 2014). The same applies to the European Championships, where Norway have prevented Sweden, Switzerland and Scotland from winning the title on five occasions. Germany have six European titles to their names, however - after five finals - they have never won a world title.

In the men’s event, the USA are the surprise reigning Olympic champions, having not won a world title since 1978.

On the women’s side, two Asian nations are emerging as strong contenders, with Republic of Korea winning silver on home soil in PyeongChang and Japan taking home the bronze. It was only the second time, after People’s Republic of China won bronze at Vancouver 2010, that Asian women’s teams finished in the top three at the Olympics. In the World Championships, the Russian Federation are also on the up, after making it to two world finals in 2017 and 2021.

Nations with one Olympic medal

• One silver: Denmark (W, 1998), Finland (M, 2006), Republic of Korea (W, 2018)
• One bronze: France (M, 1924), Japan (W, 2018), People's Republic of China (W, 2010)