Winter Olympics 2026 Curling: Stefania Constantini’s Title Defense Hit Early Turbulence as Canada’s Peterman and Gallant Set the Pace

Curling is already delivering the first true “Olympics-only” drama of the 2026 Winter Games, and it’s happening in the discipline that punishes every lapse the fastest: mixed doubles. Italy’s Stefania Constantini, the reigning Olympic champion and the face of the host nation’s curling hopes, opened her title defense with a win—and then absorbed a shock defeat that instantly tightened the standings and raised the pressure in a round-robin where there’s almost no room for a flat session.

What happened: Canada hands Italy its first major loss in years

In one of the earliest headline results of the Games, Canada’s Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant beat Constantini and partner Amos Mosaner in mixed doubles, halting an unbeaten run that had stretched across the biggest events in recent seasons. The game swung hard from the start, with Canada jumping out early and never letting Italy settle into the methodical, mistake-free rhythm that usually defines Constantini’s teams.

For Canada, it was more than one win—it was a statement that the tournament’s presumed favorites can be pulled into uncomfortable scoreboards quickly, especially when opponents commit to aggressive shot-making and score early in mixed doubles’ shorter format.

Why mixed doubles is the first curling pressure cooker of 2026

Mixed doubles runs on compressed time and amplified consequences:

• Fewer stones on the sheet means fewer chances to “fix” an end after one missed curl or weight.

• The power play option can flip momentum, forcing teams to manage risk like a chess clock.

• The round-robin is a sprint: nine games, top four advance, and tiebreak math can turn one dropped match into a seeding headache.

That’s why one early upset matters. It doesn’t just change the standings—it changes the psychology. Favorites start thinking about damage control. Challengers start believing they can take control of the event.

Team Canada mixed doubles curling schedule (all times ET)

Canada’s mixed doubles slate is packed with early starts and quick turnarounds:

• Wednesday, Feb. 4 — 1:05 p.m. — vs. Czechia

• Thursday, Feb. 5 — 8:35 a.m. — vs. Norway

• Thursday, Feb. 5 — 1:05 p.m. — vs. Italy

• Friday, Feb. 6 — 4:05 a.m. — vs. United States

• Saturday, Feb. 7 — 4:05 a.m. — vs. Great Britain

• Saturday, Feb. 7 — 1:05 p.m. — vs. Estonia

• Sunday, Feb. 8 — 8:35 a.m. — vs. Sweden

• Sunday, Feb. 8 — 1:05 p.m. — vs. South Korea

• Monday, Feb. 9 — 4:05 a.m. — vs. Switzerland

• Monday, Feb. 9 — 12:05 p.m. — Semifinals (if qualified)

• Tuesday, Feb. 10 — 8:05 a.m. — Bronze (if qualified)

• Tuesday, Feb. 10 — 12:05 p.m. — Gold (if qualified)

Those repeated pre-dawn games are not just inconvenient—they’re competitive variables. Teams that manage sleep, recovery, and nutrition best often look sharper in the final stones of tight ends.

Olympic curling schedule beyond mixed doubles: Canada’s team events (ET)

Curling’s full Olympic footprint stretches deep into the Games, with men’s and women’s team events following mixed doubles.

Canada men’s team event (selected dates, ET)

• Wednesday, Feb. 11 — 1:05 p.m. — vs. Germany

• Friday, Feb. 13 — 3:05 a.m. — vs. United States

• Friday, Feb. 13 — 1:05 p.m. — vs. Sweden

• Saturday, Feb. 14 — 8:05 a.m. — vs. Switzerland

• Sunday, Feb. 15 — 1:05 p.m. — vs. China

• Monday, Feb. 16 — 8:05 a.m. — vs. Czechia

• Tuesday, Feb. 17 — 1:05 p.m. — vs. Great Britain

• Wednesday, Feb. 18 — 8:05 a.m. — vs. Italy

• Thursday, Feb. 19 — 3:05 a.m. — vs. Norway

• Thursday, Feb. 19 — 1:05 p.m. — Semifinals (if qualified)

• Saturday, Feb. 21 — 1:05 a.m. — Gold (if qualified)

Canada women’s team event (selected dates, ET)

• Thursday, Feb. 12 — 3:05 a.m. — vs. Denmark

• Friday, Feb. 13 — 8:05 a.m. — vs. United States

• Saturday, Feb. 14 — 3:05 a.m. — vs. Great Britain

• Saturday, Feb. 14 — 1:05 p.m. — vs. Switzerland

• Monday, Feb. 16 — 3:05 a.m. — vs. China

• Monday, Feb. 16 — 1:05 p.m. — vs. Japan

• Tuesday, Feb. 17 — 8:05 a.m. — vs. Sweden

• Wednesday, Feb. 18 — 1:05 p.m. — vs. Italy

• Friday, Feb. 20 — 8:05 a.m. — Semifinals (if qualified)

• Sunday, Feb. 22 — 5:05 a.m. — Gold (if qualified)

Behind the headline: why Constantini, Peterman, and Gallant are really being tested

Context: Host-nation pressure is real. Constantini is curling’s most recognizable Italian star, and in a home Games, every end becomes a referendum. The incentive is to project control—because control is what fans expect from a defending champion.

Canada’s incentive is different: prove that mixed doubles is not a side project. Peterman and Gallant are experienced, tactically sharp, and built for the discipline’s chaos, where one bold call can decide a match before the fourth end.

Stakeholders extend beyond the sheet:

• Olympic organizers who want early marquee results without controversy

• Broadcasters who rely on morning and mid-day windows to build audience habits

• National programs that use Olympic outcomes to justify funding cycles

• Athletes whose future team selections can hinge on one medal run

Second-order effects: Early upsets change how teams deploy power plays and manage risk. When a favorite drops a game, the whole field starts recalculating what record will be “safe” to reach the semifinals—and that can make later matches more conservative, tighter, and harder for underdogs to steal.

Olympic curling TV schedule: how viewers are following it

In Canada, curling coverage is being split across the country’s main broadcast and streaming options, with early-morning sessions and midday re-airs common because of the time difference. In the United States, the rights-holding broadcast group is spreading live windows across cable and streaming, with most mixed doubles sessions available live and replays posted shortly after.

The practical advice: if you want to catch Peterman and Gallant live, plan around the recurring 4:05 a.m. ET draws and use replays for anything you miss—because mixed doubles often turns on a single end that’s gone before most people finish breakfast.

What happens next: the scenarios to watch

1. Italy stabilizes and turns the loss into fuel
   Trigger: Constantini’s team cleans up early-end errors and wins the rematch-style games it “must” have.

2. Canada rides momentum into a top seed
   Trigger: strong results in the brutal early-start stretch against the U.S., Great Britain, and Sweden.

3. The semifinal picture compresses into tiebreak chaos
   Trigger: multiple contenders trade upsets, making final-day stone differential and head-to-head results decisive.

Curling at the 2026 Winter Olympics is already in its most unforgiving mode: one missed shot can become a standings problem. And in mixed doubles, that problem arrives fast.