Curling

Mouat, Tirinzoni earn wins in Swift Current as Olympic countdown continues

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Switzerland

Two gold medal contenders for the fast approaching Winter Olympics picked up bonspiel wins this weekend in Swift Current, Saskatchewan.

Scotland’s Team Bruce Mouat, ranked first in the world in men’s curling, and Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni, No. 2 in women’s curling, each won the RBC Dominion Securities Western Showdown on Sunday in the prairie province.

Team Mouat defeated Saskatoon’s Team Rylan Kleiter in the championship game, 5-4, scoring a single in the eighth to secure the title.

The foursome from Stirling won all seven of their games in Swift Current, including victories over Saskatoon’s Team Mike McEwen in the quarterfinal and Scottish rival Team Ross Whyte in the semifinal.

Team Mouat won the World Men’s Curling Championship last season in Moose Jaw and will be the favourites to capture Olympic gold in Italy come February as they continue to dominate the curling circuit in 2025-26 with four wins, including two Grand Slams.

Mouat and company settled for silver at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

On the women’s side of the event, Team Tirinzoni downed South Korea’s Team Seungyoun Ha in the final, 4-3.

Tirinzoni’s rink also won all seven of their games at the bonspiel, grabbing playoff wins over Victoria’s Team Kayla MacMillan in the quarters and Team Bobae Kang of South Korea in the semis.

It marked the third victory of the season for Team Tirinzoni, who have also dropped three Grand Slam finals to world No. 1 Team Rachel Homan.

The Winter Games in Cortina D’Ampezzo and Milan, Italy will be the third Olympics for Tirinzoni as she searches for her first medal.

Mouat, Tirinzoni as well as fellow Olympic competitors in Canada’s Brad Jacobs and Rachel Homan will all be in Saskatoon this week for the Canadian Open, the fourth Grand Slam of the 2025-26 season.

Elsewhere on Tour, Team Stacie Curtis and Team Scott Jones were both victorious as the Rick Rowsell Classic in St. John’s, Nfld.