Casper ends Shuster’s memorable run by defeating 2018 Olympic gold medalist in USA Curling Trials final

John Shuster’s run of five straight Olympic appearances came to an end Sunday night in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The American curling legend, who struck Olympic gold in stunning fashion in 2018, lost the United States Olympic Curling Trials to 24-year-old Daniel Casper and his rink from Minneapolis.

Team Casper won the deciding Game 3 by a score of 7-5 after the two sides split the first two contests of the best-of-three final series.

Team Tabitha Peterson of St. Paul, Minn., won a second straight Olympic Trials on the women’s side by beating sweeping Team Elizabeth Cousins in two games.

Unlike previous years, the American men’s and women’s teams have not officially qualified for the Olympic Games. Team Casper and Team Peterson will now head to the Kelowna Curling Club in December for the 2025 Olympic Qualification Event where a top-two finish will punch their ticket to the Olympics, running from Feb. 4-22, 2026 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

The 43-year-old Shuster first represented the United States at the 2006 Olympics in Italy, playing lead for Pete Fenson and helping them win the bronze medal.

Shuster skipped Team USA at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, finishing near the bottom of the standings before putting together a memorable run at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. After just making the playoffs, Team Shuster upset Canada’s Team Kevin Koe in the semifinal before stunning Sweden’s Team Niklas Edin in the gold medal match by a score of 10-7, putting up a five-spot in the eighth end.

Canada’s Team Brad Gushue defeated Shuster in the bronze medal game at the 2021 Olympics in Beijing.

Casper’s rink has been making waves for the last few years and are currently ranked eighth in the world.