Chestermere's Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant win mixed doubles curling trials, eye Olympics

Article content

LIVERPOOL, N.S. — They’ve got the Trials gold, they’ve got the Maple Leaf jackets; now there is just one item remaining on the to-do list for Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant: Qualify for the Winter Olympics.

The Chestermere, Alta., husband-and-wife team took a massive step toward the 2026 Games in Italy by winning gold at the Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials Saturday at Queens Place Emera Centre.

Peterman and Gallant, along with coach Laine Peters, were 8-7 winners over Rachel Homan and Brendan Bottcher (Beaumont, Alta./Spruce Grove, Alta.; coach Rachel Brown), to cap a run of 10 straight wins at the competition. They will represent Canada at the World Mixed Doubles Championship April 26-May 3 in Fredericton, N.B.

With a solid result there, Peterman and Gallant will secure their nomination to the Canadian Olympic team for the 2026 Games in Milan and Cortina.

“We’ve dreamt of this for a long time,” said Peterman. “In a sense it feels like it’s kind of the first step; we know we still have to earn that spot in a few months, but yeah it’s amazing.

“We had some really, really close games early and we were very determined this week. Just very proud of the week as a whole. It wasn’t as easy as 10-and-0 sounds; it was a grind and we’re really proud of it.”

It was an ideal start to the final for the two-time Canadian mixed doubles champs. In the first end, after Homan was wide and just heavy with her raise attempt, Peterman made an open tap to score three.

An end later, Homan wrecked on a guard on her tap for two, allowing Peterman and Gallant to steal one.

After a double takeout by Peterman in the third forced Homan and Bottcher to settle for a single, Peterman and Gallant scored two more in the fourth.

Trailing 6-1, Homan and Bottcher had something brewing in the fifth after a rare miss from Gallant, but Peterman made another crucial double takeout to limit the score to a deuce, which they matched in the sixth to restore the five-point lead.

Homan and Bottcher managed to score a pair in the seventh, and in the eighth, Peterman had an open hit to seal the victory.

“I felt myself just checking myself a few times during that game,” said Gallant, a bronze medallist in men’s curling at the 2022 Olympics playing second for Brad Gushue. “You just never feel comfortable, even with the lead that we had, and we knew it was gonna come down to the last shot either way. I’m just thankful that we had a strong game, we battled all the way and it was a relatively easy one for Jocelyn (at the end). Lots of emotions now and just proud of how we played.”

Peters will know all about Cortina should the team nail down its berth in a few months in Fredericton. She’ll be heading to the World Junior Championships in April in Cortina as the coach (with Derek Bowyer) of Canada’s Team Kenan Wipf of Calgary, the reigning Canadian Under-20 men’s champs. And she was already slated to attend the 2026 Olympics in her role as executive assistant to Canadian Olympic Committee president Tricia Smith.

“Brett and Jocelyn are not just rock stars on the ice, but they’re incredibly good people — just good humans,” said Peters. “So it’s just such an honour to be a part of this team.”

Now, the team will turn its focus to Fredericton and earning Canada its berth in the Winter Games.

“We understand the responsibility and we wear the uniform with pride,” said Peterman. “You know we’re going to give it our absolute all in Fredericton and hopefully in Italy.”

Earlier Saturday, Bottcher and Homan reached the final with an 8-6 semifinal win over John Epping and Lisa Weagle.

Canada’s John Morris and Kaitlyn Lawes won gold when mixed doubles made its Olympic debut at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Homan and Morris missed the playoffs at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

— With files from The Canadian Press