Canada’s Team Homan opens 2026 Olympics schedule on winning note

CORTINA d’AMPEZZO, Italy — It was an ideal start for Canada’s Team Rachel Homan in its bid to reach the medal podium at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The Ottawa team, rounded out by vice-skip Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew, lead Sarah Wilkes, alternate Rachelle Brown, team coach Heather Nedohin and national coach Viktor Kjell, raced to a 10-4 win over Denmark’s Team Madeleine Dupont on Thursday morning at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.

It was a measure of revenge for both Homan and Miskew, who lost to the Danes 9-8 on an extra-end steal at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea.

But revenge was not the motivator on Thursday; it was all about getting off to a good start in the 10-team round-robin schedule and banking knowledge on the ice surface and stones.

“ I think we made a pile of shots early, and it felt pretty comfortable — the ice feels really good,” said Homan, who is competing in her third Winter Olympics. “Obviously, a few shots here and there that we’re just going to take and learn from them. On every ice surface there’s going to be new lines that you’ve got to learn, and that was just a part of that game. So we’re just taking everything we can out of that game — the good and the bad, and keep learning.”

The Canadians couldn’t have asked for a better start. A wonder double-takeout-and-roll behind a corner guard from Fleury in her Olympic debut set the stage for Homan to make a draw to score two.

But the Danes got back into it quickly, responding with a deuce in the second end, a steal of one in the third, and holding Team Canada to a single in the fourth.

In the fifth, though, Team Homan turned up the pressure, getting a cluster of five Canadian stones in the four-foot behind a centre guard. Dupont could only move one of them, and Canada stole a game-changing four.

“I think we came out confident and fairly calm considering it was our first game here and we got a good handle on the ice and I think that really helped,” said Fleury. “We were communicating with each other really well and then the fifth end we were able to get our rocks in really good spots and put a lot of pressure on them.”

The Canadians forced Denmark to a single in the sixth, and when Homan made a draw for three in the seventh, Denmark conceded.

Both Canadian teams have the rest of Thursday off, and both will be back on the ice Friday in Cortina. Team Brad Jacobs of Calgary, which won its opener on Wednesday night over Germany, will take on Team Daniel Casper of the U.S. (1-0) at 3:05 a.m. (all times Eastern) and Sweden’s Team Niklas Edin (0-1) at 1:05 p.m.

Team Homan’s only game on Friday is at 8:05 a.m. against Team Tabitha Peterson of the United States (1-0).

“It’s a great start, obviously,” said Homan. “It’s really great to (get) the first one under your belt (before) the (rest of the) day off. It was a really great performance by my team.”

For live scoring, team lineups, and standings for the three Olympic curling competitions, CLICK HERE.

All of Canada’s games will be broadcast on a variety of platforms by CBC, the official Olympic rights-holder in Canada. CLICK HERE for the CBC broadcast schedule.