Canada’s Team Homan rallies with back-to-back wins at Winter Olympics

CORTINA d’AMPEZZO, Italy — Canada’s Team Rachel Homan (3-3) delivered big performances in both Monday games at the 2026 Winter Olympics, earning two wins that tuned up the momentum for the Ottawa squad.

Beginning the day near the bottom of the standings with just one win and three losses, Canada rebounded by defeating Japan’s Team Sayaka Yoshimura (1-5) and China’s Team Rui Wang (2-4) at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. These victories pushed the Canadians into the playoff mix, now firmly in contention for one of four available spots.

With three games left to play, Canada sits just one game behind a playoff position. Their next challenge is an undefeated Swedish team, skipped by Anna Hasselborg, on Tuesday at 8:05 a.m. (all times Eastern).

After a rest day on Sunday, skip Homan, vice-skip Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew, lead Sarah Wilkes, alternate Rachelle Brown, team coach Heather Nedohin, and national coaches Viktor Kjell and Renée Sonnenberg appeared comfortable on the ice.

Canada capped off Monday night with a 9-6 victory over Japan, sealing the win with a draw to the four-foot.

“Yeah, it’s huge, we’re making a lot of big shots as a team and trying to be as precise as we can, and obviously, it feels good,” Homan said. “But lots of work to do and just trying to give it everything we have.”

Japan started with the hammer, but Canada stuck to its game plan. The teams traded deuces in the first two ends before Canada stole three in the third. On a draw through a narrow port, Yoshimura’s stone made it through but slid to the back of the house.

Yoshimura’s draw struggles continued, leading to another steal of one for Canada in the sixth while drawing against four. Despite this, Japan stayed close by holding Canada to single points and scoring a deuce in the ninth.

Earlier in the day, Canada secured a 10-5 win over China.

Signature big-weight shots from Homan helped Canada put up big numbers and clinch the win.

The turning point came in the fourth end: with China’s final draw sitting high in the house, Homan capitalized with a big-weight double to score four points.

Two ends later, Homan executed a runback to set up a lightweight hit for three, further extending Canada’s lead.

In men’s action, Canada’s Team Brad Jacobs of Calgary (5-1) stayed among the leaders in the men’s competition.

Skip Jacobs, vice-skip Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant, lead Ben Hebert, alternate Tyler Tardi, team coach Paul Webster, and national coach Jeff Stoughton defeated Czechia’s Team Lukas Klima (0-6) 8-2 in eight ends on Monday afternoon.

The win not only helped Canada maintain its hold on second place in the 10-team field, but also marked the Olympic ice debut for alternate Tyler Tardi.

“I actually wasn’t expecting to go out. It’s good to see the guys rolling, and I don’t want to get in the way and interrupt their flow as we get closer to the playoffs,” Tardi said. “To be honest, that was the last thing on my mind, but obviously thrilled to have that experience. It was my dream to just sit on the bench all week, so to actually have the chance to step out on the ice; it’s amazing to say the least.”

With a 7-1 lead, Tardi replaced lead Hebert in the seventh end. The teams then exchanged singles before Czechia conceded.

Tardi threw four stones with 100 percent accuracy.

Team Jacobs returns to action Tuesday against another playoff contender, Great Britain’s Team Bruce Mouat (4-3), at 1:05 p.m.

For live scoring, team lineups, and standings for the 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.