Rachel Homan, Canada complete 'double-double' with curling win at worlds

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The ‘double-double’ has been delivered — something Canadians everywhere can certainly savour.

It means the world — another world title, actually — to Rachel Homan and her rink-mates from Ottawa, as they served up another curling championship for Canada.

Following up on the order filled by Homan, Tracy Fleury, Emma Miskew and Sarah Wilkes at last month’s Scotties Tournament of Hearts, the crew representing Canada completed a sweep of national and global titles for a second straight year by winning the 2025 LGT World Women’s Curling Championship on Sunday in Uijeongbu, South Korea.

The double-double, if you will.

“Unbelievable,” Homan told reporters, celebrating the gold-medal moment after the 7-3 nine-end win over Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni in the finale at Uijeongbu Indoor Ice Arena.

“That’s the end-goal at the end of the year,” beamed Canada’s skip. “It feels so far away when you start the season. And we couldn’t believe it that we put ourselves in the opportunity to be in the final again against an amazing team.”

The battle of heavyweights — Nos. 1 and 2 in the world rankings — was a rematch of last year’s championship final in Sydney, N.S., that saw Homan stop Tirinzoni’s historic string of four straight world titles.

This triumph now gives top-rated Homan two in a row, as the super skip and her fearsome foursome representing the Ottawa Curling Club reeled off a 13-2 run at this event, including the only two losses handed to the sensational Swiss side.

Indeed, skip Tirinonzi and her rink-mates — Alina Paetz, Carole Howald and Selina Witschonke — from Aarau, Switzerland, finished with a spectacular 12-2 record themselves but couldn’t handle Homan in their two meetings.

In fact, Team Homan is now a whopping 10-1 in tilts with Tirinzoni since the start of the 2023-24 curling season.

And that includes the two world final matches last year — a 7-5 decision — and Sunday.

“Against that team, you can’t make any little mistakes,” lamented Tirinzoni. “And we made some big mistakes, I felt. That was just not quite good enough to beat that team.”

For 35-year-old skip Homan and 36-year-old second Miskew, it’s a third world title for each of them, as they teamed up for the 2017 Beijing gold with front-enders Joanne Courtney and Lisa Weagle and then won last year with 38-year-old vice-skip Fleury and 34-year-old lead Wilkes, who now each boast two triumphs for themselves.

Homan and Miskew now stand alongside Schmirler and her teammates Jan Betker, Joan McCusker and Marcia Gudereit as the only other Canadian curlers to win three women’s world championships. Team Schmirler captured its third crown in 1997.

Alternate Rachelle Brown, 38, was on the team a year ago, as well, so it’s her second global honour, too.

And Canadian coaches Viktor Kjell and Renée Sonnenberg also share in the celebration that also marks Homan as the first Canadian team to repeat as world champs since Sandra Schmirler’s side did it in 1993 and ’94.

“She’s a legend,” added Homan. “She’s done so much for the sport. It’s an unbelievable honour to be mentioned in the same light as Sandra Schmirler.

“It’s just an unbelievable feeling to be back-to-back world champions.”

HOW CANADA BEAT SWITZERLAND

Up by one in the eighth end, Homan showcased surgical precision with a tap that promoted her own stone on the four-foot into a Swiss rock on the button. The Swiss stone slid back just enough to leave Canada sitting two counters biting the button. Switzerland’s fourth Alina Paetz attempted a draw to score but overcurled and clipped a guard, handing Canada a steal of two and a three-point lead. Team Homan stole another point in the ninth, prompting Switzerland to concede.

“My team was just throwing it so well, so I know exactly where to put the broom and the girls managed it so well. It was just huge to lie two and put the pressure on her. Thankfully, we got a miss. We don’t get misses out of Alina ever, so we tried to put the pedal down and take advantage of that,” Homan said.

Homan’s team had confidence in her making the shot to help it gain the inside track to the championship.

“She got all the shots. That’s why she’s so scary to play against because she can throw the peels, clear four rocks, or she can draw the pin whenever we need it. She’s a weapon,” said Fleury said who was named to the tournament’s all-star team as the third with the highest shooting percentage — 88.1% — throughout the week.

Here’s how it went Sunday, with four point stolen by Canada marking the difference …

• First end — Paetz hit-and-roll to blank end; 0-0
• Second end — Paetz hit-and-roll to blank end; 0-0
• Third end — Paetz light on draw to button to allow Canada a steal of one; 1-0 Canada
• Fourth end — Paetz draws to four-foot circle to count two; 2-1 Switzerland
• Fifth end — Homan draws to four-foot circle to count one; 2-2 (key shot — Homan executes long runback double take-out)
• Sixth end — Facing three, Paetz draws to button to count one; 3-2 Switzerland
• Seventh end — Homan executes free draw to count two; 4-3 Canada (key shot — Paetz misses hit-and-roll, removes own stone and shooter)
• Eighth end — Facing two, Paetz wrecks on rock in top of house on draw to button; 6-3 Canada (key shot — Homan short-angle raise to tap Swiss stone off button)
• Ninth end — Facing one, Paetz misses runback; 7-3 Canada

“They had control for most of the game,” Homan said. “And we got that flip there in six.”

The first half of the game was tightly contested. Switzerland opened with hammer, but Canada stole a point in the third end for an early lead. Team Tirinzoni responded with two in the fourth and forced Homan to a single in the fifth. Despite a brilliant Canadian runback double to clear the house, Switzerland buried a draw behind a centre guard, which couldn’t be chased. Canada settled for a single and a 2-2 tie.

Homan’s win capped a resilient week. The Canadians finished the round robin at 10-2, placing third. Without a bye to the semifinals, they battled through a qualification win over Scotland. Then they needed a double takeout in the semifinal against Korea to force an extra end, eventually punching their ticket to the final.

“This week was a grind, a ton of games back to back,” Homan said. “I know we’re exhausted, but we know we had one more game in us. We knew we were going to have to battle hard against Alina.”

It is the first time a Canadian men’s or women’s team has won a gold medal overseas at a world championship since Homan and Miskew’s victory in 2017 in China.

“We’re so happy we could do Canada proud and bring home the gold again,” added Homan. “Back-to-back is an unbelievable feeling. It’s definitely strange not having our family members here. It’s probably the first time ever going overseas without them. We can’t wait to celebrate with them when we get back home.”

EXTRA ENDS

Earlier Sunday, China’s Wang Rui scored the bronze medal with 9-4 win over host Korea’s Gim Eun-ji, after the Chinese crew from the Harbin Curling Club counted seven points over the final four ends of the match … With that win, China grabs the final Olympic berth for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games from the world championships, joining six others doing the same in Uijeongbu. Olympic qualification points were garnered from last year’s and this year’s worlds, with Canada finishing on top — on 30 — and Switzerland next — with 26. Then, it’s Korea (21), Sweden (18), Denmark (15), Scotland (14) and China (11). Italy, which earned 14 points, was already in the Olympic field of 10, as the host country … The final two nations to round out the Games field will be determined from the last-chance qualifying tournament in December in Kelowna, B.C.

tsaelhof@postmedia.com

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