Curling Scandal Rocks Winter Olympics as Sweden Dominates Medal Count

The Milano Cortina Winter Olympics curling competition was marred by a cheating controversy when Sweden accused Canada of illegally touching stones. Despite the drama, Sweden emerged as the top curling nation with two gold medals while Canada bounced back to claim their first men's title since 2014.

The curling competitions at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics became the center of intense drama and athletic achievement, with Sweden playing a central role in both storylines.

A major scandal erupted when Sweden’s men’s team alleged that Canada was cheating through illegal stone contact, sparking a profanity-filled reaction from Canadian curler Marc Kennedy that spread across social media platforms and captured international headlines.

This controversy sparked debates about the quality of officiating and whether World Curling has the capability to oversee a sport that’s becoming increasingly competitive while maintaining its traditional honor system.

Despite the negative attention, the incident succeeded in bringing widespread visibility to a sport that typically receives little coverage outside of Olympic years.

Beyond generating controversy, Sweden demonstrated exceptional performance on the ice, leading all nations with two gold medal victories.

Although their men’s defending champions under Niklas Edin’s leadership were eliminated early following a lackluster showing, siblings Rasmus and Isabella Wranaa secured the mixed doubles championship, while Anna Hasselborg’s squad earned their second women’s title.

“It was super inspiring watching Isabella and Rasmus before we got here. It for sure gave us a lot of energy and inspiration from the start when they played,” Sofia Scharback, who plays lead for the women’s team, explained.

“It’s like riding the wave from their performance. It’s a big thing now coming home with two gold medals for Sweden in curling. It’s huge.”

Canada, widely considered the global center of curling, recovered from previous Olympic setbacks to earn their first men’s championship since 2014, even as Brad Jacobs’ squad faced off-ice disruptions during the cheating allegations.

The country also earned women’s bronze through Rachel Homan’s team, marking the two-time world champions’ inaugural Olympic medal.

“Curling has changed a lot over the last five, ten years, internationally. It’s more challenging than ever to get on top of this podium,” men’s team member Brett Gallant stated.

“It feels like we’ve climbed a mountain together, lifting each other all the way there to the top. What an incredible feeling. We’re so proud to represent Canada.”

Switzerland captured two medals with women’s silver and men’s bronze, while the United States earned silver in mixed doubles competition – marking their first medal in that category.

Italy’s home crowd celebrated as Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner took mixed doubles bronze, though the defending champions from Beijing likely felt some disappointment in not repeating their gold medal performance.

The most crushing defeat may have belonged to Britain’s Bruce Mouat, whose team entered as strong favorites for men’s gold but came up short, falling to Canada in the championship match.