Swiss curling great Silvana Tirinzoni is calling it quits.
The 46-year-old announced her retirement on Wednesday after a prolific career that lasted nearly three decades.
Tirinzoni won four gold and two silver medals over nine appearances at the World Women’s Curling Championship, adding another silver medal at this year’s Winter Olympics in her third showing at the event.
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Team Tirinzoni, also featuring fourth Alina Pätz, second Carole Howald and lead Selina Witschonke, finished the 2025-26 season as the No. 1 team on the women’s world curling rankings.
“The decision is a very difficult one. It hurts. There are tears and it’s not easy to find the right words that truly reflect how I feel,” Tirinzoni said in her announcement. “It might seem crazy to step away while being part of the number one ranked team in the world, but I feel that I’ve pushed myself to the absolute limits.”
Pätz and Witschonke plan on pursing curling opportunities together while Howald is also stepping away from the team to focus on mixed doubles and the newly formed Rock League.
Tirinzoni, a native of Dielsdorf, Switzerland, also own two European Curling Championships, seven Grand Salm titles and gold from the 1999 World Junior Curling Championship.
“Looking back, I can’t say I enjoyed every single minute. That wouldn’t be the truth. There were tough moments, setbacks and challenges. Moments that made me cry and forced difficult decisions,” Tirinzoni added. “But even in the darkest times of my career, one thing was always clear: I love curling.”
Team Xenia Schwaller, led by the 23-year-old skip, now becomes the clear favourite to represent Switzerland on the international stage for the foreseeable future.
