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Norwegian mixed doubles curlers Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten won bronze at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018 and followed that up with a silver medal at the Beijing Games four years later.
Now, heading into Milano Cortina 2026, the obvious question is whether they can climb the final rung of the podium and complete the set with a gold medal.
It has become a familiar refrain for them.
“It’s not only you that mentioned like, ‘oh, you’ve now got the bronze and the silver, what about this year?’,” Skaslien told Reuters by video call in January.
“Of course, we do think about that gold medal. To be able to be on top of the podium, that’s like a dream come true.”
Her teammate and husband Nedregotten welcomed the mounting expectations.
“It’s a good thing that people are saying that,” he added.
“If people are saying this, that means we are showing a pattern. That obviously … when we won the bronze and then silver.
“Everyone was like, yeah, ‘well, you can take the gold next time’. That gives you an urge to show them that, yeah, okay, we can actually try and make that happen. There’s no guarantees in sport, but we will try our best.”
Brett Gallant will become the first Canadian curler to compete in two disciplines at the same Winter Games when he goes to the Milan Cortina Olympics next year. CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin caught up with Gallant to find out how he’s feeling about the opportunity.
‘Pretty open’ mixed doubles field
Winning gold will be far from easy and their path to victory will pit them against a number of seasoned competitors.
The Norwegians are part of a field which includes defending champions Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner of Italy, Britain’s 2021 world champions Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat and 2023 world champions Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse of the United States.
“There are many teams that have the opportunity to get that gold medal this time. If everything goes according to plan and we play our best game, then we are among those that can manage it,” Nedregotten said.
“We have both won and lost against most of the teams in that field. It will be very entertaining for the viewers to see some dramatic curling and whoever stands on top will have fought very hard…
“In a sport like curling, it [the Olympics] is definitely the highest hanging fruit.”
While the mixed doubles curling tournament promises stiff competition, Skaslien and Nedregotten will at least have the advantage of having been there and done that.
“It’s so many good teams. Almost all teams can win it if they have a good week. We can also have a really good week as well and not end up on the podium. It’s pretty open,” Skaslien said.
“Having been there two times before, you know what you’re going to do. Thinking back to our first Olympics, it was kind of crazy with all the media attention. Curling is a pretty small sport in Norway. It’s your one opportunity to shine.
“Back in 2018, we didn’t know what to expect at all. We started off really well and all the media wanted to talk to us. Now we know what we can expect, but I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing, really.”
The mixed doubles curling competition will begin on Wednesday at the Cortina Olympic Stadium, with Skaslien and Nedregotten facing Britain in their first round-robin match.
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