Author’s Note: Some of my musings below were shared before Beijing and Sochi, but I’m recycling a bit because it’s good for the planet.
The XXV Winter Games start next week! Opening Ceremonies are Friday, although preliminary heats in Mixed Doubles Curling start on Wednesday. Most of America’s curling athletes come from Minnesota, including Team USA’s mixed doubles team, and Minnesota could use some extra cheering right now, so get in there! Fun Fact: All of Team USA’s Mixed Doubles athletes are named Cory (Cory and Korey)… those long winter nights must just fly by. How can you not watch a team where people have the same name? Mixed Doubles Curling is to Curling what Rugby Sevens is to regular Rugby—half the people but the same size of the field.
Since I brought it up, let’s just look at what we can expect in Mixed Doubles. You may recall that the plucky team from Italy surprised the favored Norwegians with the first ever curling medal for Italy in Beijing 2022. That same pair went 9-0 to win last year’s world championships, and the female half of the team, Stefania Constantini, hails from…wait for it Cortina! Guess where the Curling stadium is… Cortina! The Mixed Doubles Italian gold-winning pair will also be the flagbearers for Italy in Cortina. So you can think of Constantini and Mosaner as the Simone Biles of Mixed Doubles Curling: the ones to beat. Boy, the Cory/Korey’s are going to have an uphill battle against that powerhouse Italian team.
I hear you scoffing, my friends, but you have to remember one of the Kajmeister Olympic Rules: All sports are interesting if you know the rules and the backstory of those competing. Curling started at the Games back in 1924—more on that shortly. But let’s briefly recall how these winter games all got started.
Continue reading “Nordic! Alpine! Extreme! Look Back and Forward to Milano-Cortina”