Canada ousted by Estonia at world mixed doubles curling championship

ÖSTERSUND, Sweden — Canada's Kadriana and Colton Lott were ousted from the world mixed doubles curling championship after suffering a 6-5 loss to Estonia in a playoff qualification game on Friday.

The husband-and-wife team from Gimli, Man. led 5-4 after six ends but Estonia tied the score in the seventh and then sealed the victory with a steal of one in the eighth and final end after Kadriana Lott came up just short on her draw that needed to cover the pin for the victory.

“We gave it everything we had,” said Colton Lott. “It’s disappointing, for sure. But we’re going to take this and learn from it and look for ways to be even better next season.”

It marked just the second loss of the tournament for the Canadian team, which finished 8-1 in the preliminary round.

The Estonian duo of Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill, who finished the preliminary round at 6-3, advanced to the final with an 8-6 semifinal upset of Norway (7-2) in Friday's semifinals. Estonia once again sealed the victory with a steal of one in the final end.

Estonia will face Sweden (8-1) for gold on Saturday after the hosts downed Switzerland 6-3 in the other semifinal.

Switzerland (6-3), which advanced to the semifinals with an 8-6 win over Scotland (6-3), will play Norway for bronze.

Canada will finish fifth at the tournament, which puts the country in solid shape to qualify for the 2026 Turin Olympics. The combined results from the 2024 and 2025 world championships will determine seven teams to join host Italy, while the final two will emerge from the Olympic qualification event in December 2025.

The Canadian mixed doubles trials, which will decide Canada’s team that would be nominated to compete at the Olympics, are just eight months away — Dec. 30 to Jan. 4 in Liverpool, N.S. — and the Lotts, who were unbeaten at the Canadian championship last month in Fredericton, N.B., will be among the favourites.

“Right now, yes, this is feeling really tough, but we know we have a lot to look forward to,” said Kadriana Lott. “We came together even more as a team, and learned more about what it takes to be successful at this level.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2024.