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Curling 101: Who's qualified for Team USA

Curling 101: Who's qualified for Team USA
Posted at 9:37 AM, Sep 29, 2021
and last updated 2021-11-22 11:59:45-05

The 2021 World Curling Championships and three Olympic Qualification Events will determine which countries send curling teams to the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

A maximum of 30 teams and 120 athletes will qualify:

  • Men’s curling: 10 teams of four male athletes (50)
  • Women’s curling: 10 teams of four female athletes (50)
  • Mixed doubles: 10 teams of one male and one female athlete (20)

The host country, China, is guaranteed an Olympic team berth in each tournament.

In all three curling events, teams qualify for Beijing through earning Olympic Qualification Points at the World Curling Championships. Higher world championship finishes earn more points, and the teams with the most accumulated points will earn Olympic berths for their country.

The countries that have already qualified a team for the 2022 Olympics are:

Men's curling:

  • Canada
  • China
  • Great Britain
  • ROC
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • USA

Women's curling:

  • Canada
  • China
  • Denmark
  • ROC
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • USA

Mixed doubles curling:

  • Canada
  • China
  • Czech Republic
  • Great Britain
  • Italy
  • Norway
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland

Three more men’s and women’s curling teams will have a second chance to earn Olympic berths at Olympic Qualification Events.

The teams that finish first, second and third at the Olympic Qualification Event will earn the final spots at the Beijing Olympics.

There are only two spots remaining for mixed doubles at the Beijing Olympics. An Olympics Qualification Event will also determine the final mixed doubles squads.

Team USA

On the men's side for Team USA, the John Shuster-skipped team that won gold in 2018 will be returning to the Olympics to defend their title. Fellow 2018 gold medalists Matt Hamilton and John Landsteiner remain on Shuster's squad, and they'll be joined by Chris Plys, who replaces Tyler George.

The Nina Roth-led women's squad didn't win a medal in 2018, but Roth will once again be representing the U.S. at the Olympics. This time, though, she won't be serving as her team's skip. Instead, it will be Tabitha Peterson skipping the women's team alongside Roth, Tara Peterson and Becca Hamilton.

Plys and Vicky Persinger, meanwhile, still need to earn a spot for the mixed doubles competition at the upcoming Olympic qualification event beginning December 5.