Team Homan Advances to Olympic Curling Semifinals with Decisive Win Over South Korea
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — After facing early setbacks that threatened their Olympic dreams, Team Rachel Homan has secured a place in the women's curling semifinals at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Games. The Canadian squad defeated South Korea's Team Gim Eun-ji with a final score of 10-7, earning one of the coveted playoff spots in a dramatic conclusion to the round robin stage.
A Hard-Fought Victory with Playoff Implications
The match unfolded with intense strategic play from both teams. Canada won the opening draw to secure the hammer advantage, but managed only a single point in the first end. In the second end, South Korea appeared poised to score multiple points until Homan executed a precise freeze with her final stone, resulting in a steal of one point for Canada.
South Korea responded strongly in the third end with a three-point split to take the lead. The fourth end saw increased pressure from the Korean team, but they ultimately surrendered two points on Homan's final shot, putting Canada back in front. The teams entered halftime tied at 4-4 after Homan limited South Korea to a single point in the fifth end.
Pivotal Sixth End and Closing Strategy
The sixth end proved decisive as Team Homan capitalized on their hammer advantage to score four points, establishing a commanding lead. They maintained control through the subsequent ends, holding South Korea to a single point in the seventh, scoring one themselves in the eighth, and limiting South Korea to two points in the ninth despite their hammer advantage. Homan closed out the match with a single point in the tenth end, securing the 10-7 victory.
This win came less than twenty-four hours after another tense victory for the Canadians, who defeated Italy 8-7 in extra ends. In that match, Team Homan surrendered three points in the tenth end to force extras, then scored the winning point in the eleventh end with a shot that narrowly avoided falling short at the last moment.
Overcoming Early Tournament Struggles
Team Homan's journey to the semifinals has been marked by significant challenges. Despite entering the Olympic bonspiel as the top-ranked rink and clear favorites, the Canadians found themselves in must-win territory early in the tournament after starting with a disappointing 1-3 record. Their losses included a historic defeat to the United States—the first time Canada's women's curling team had ever lost to the Americans in Olympic competition—and a controversial loss to Switzerland where officials disqualified a stone Homan allegedly touched after release.
This officiating controversy occurred amid heightened scrutiny following a double-touch scandal earlier in the tournament involving Canadian curler Marc Kennedy and Sweden's Oskar Eriksson. World Curling Federation officials had implemented stricter hogline monitoring in response to the incident, though they later returned to their pre-tournament officiating policy after the controversy continued through the tournament's opening weekend.
Looking Ahead to the Semifinals
With their playoff spot secured, Team Homan now faces first-place Sweden in the semifinals on Friday. The Canadians previously defeated Team Anna Hasselbourg's Swedish rink 7-6 during the four-game winning streak that revitalized their tournament campaign. A victory in the semifinal would advance Canada to the gold medal match on Saturday against the winner of the Switzerland-United States semifinal, while the losing team would compete for the bronze medal.
This achievement represents a significant redemption opportunity for Homan and her teammates, who finished sixth at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and narrowly missed the mixed doubles playoffs at the 2022 Beijing Games. Now with two potential medal opportunities ahead, Team Homan has demonstrated remarkable resilience in overcoming both early losses and tournament controversies to position themselves for Olympic glory.
