The curling competition of the 2010 Olympics was held at Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre in Vancouver. It is the fifth time that curling was on the Olympic program, after having been staged in 1924, 1998, 2002 and 2006. For the 2010 Winter Olympics, the competition followed the same format that was used during the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, with 10 teams playing a round robin tournament, from which the top four teams advance to the semi-finals.

The women's competition concluded on Friday, February 26, 2010. In the bronze medal match, the Chinese team made history by becoming the first team from Asia to win an Olympic curling medal. The gold medal match was one of the closest medal games in Olympic competition. Team Canada won the silver medal, their best performance since the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games when Sandra Schmirler skipped the Canadians to gold. Team Sweden won the gold medal. Anette Norberg, Eva Lund, Cathrine Lindahl, and Anna Le Moine (née Anna Bergström [Anna Svärd in Torino]) became the first curlers to win two gold medals at the Olympic Games.

The men's competition concluded on Saturday, February 27, 2010. In the bronze medal match, Markus Eggler of Switzerland became the first male curler to win two Olympic medals. The gold medal final was a rematch between Canada and Norway of the 2002 Olympics men's final (although only one athlete from each team participated in both finals). The only disturbance was when an unsportsmanlike spectator deliberately blew a horn while the Norwegians were delivering their stones. The crowd promptly booed the man and the horn was not blown again until the medal ceremony. The Canadians controlled the game throughout and never relinquished the lead. Torger Nergård and Kevin Martin became the second and third men to win two Olympic medals.

With the conclusion of the Vancouver Olympic curling tournament, eight athletes now have two Olympic curling medals. They are in the order in which they received their medals: Mirjam Ott (SUI), Markus Eggler (SUI), Kevin Martin (CAN), Torger Nergård (NOR), Anette Norberg, Eva Lund, Cathrine Lindahl, and Anna Le Moine, all of Sweden.

Medal summary Medal table

Events Men's Kevin MartinJohn MorrisMarc KennedyBen HebertAdam Enright Thomas UlsrudTorger NergårdChristoffer SvaeHåvard Vad PeterssonThomas Løvold Ralph StöckliJan HauserMarkus EgglerSimon StrübinToni MüllerWomen's Anette NorbergEva LundCathrine LindahlAnna Le MoineKajsa Bergström Cheryl BernardSusan O'ConnorCarolyn DarbyshireCori BartelKristie Moore Wang BingyuLiu YinYue QingshuangZhou YanLiu Jinli

Qualified teams Men's Saville SC, Edmonton Skip: Kevin Martin Third: John Morris Second: Marc Kennedy Lead: Ben Hebert Alternate: Adam Enright Harbin CC, Harbin Fourth: Liu Rui Skip: Wang Fengchun* Second: Xu Xiaoming Lead: Zang Jialiang Alternate: Li Hongchen Hvidovre CC, Hvidovre Fourth: Johnny Frederiksen Skip: Ulrik Schmidt* Second: Bo Jensen Lead: Lars Vilandt Alternate: Mikkel Poulsen Chamonix CC, Chamonix Skip: Thomas Dufour Third: Tony Angiboust Second: Jan Ducroz Lead: Richard Ducroz Alternate: Raphael MathieuCC Füssen, Füssen Skip: Andy Kapp Third: Andreas Lang Second: Holger Höhne Lead: Andreas Kempf Alternate: Daniel HerbergLockerbie CC, Lockerbie Skip: David Murdoch Third: Ewan MacDonald Second: Peter Smith Lead: Euan Byers Alternate: Graeme Connal Snarøen CK, Bærum Skip: Thomas Ulsrud Third: Torger Nergård Second: Christoffer Svae Lead: Håvard Vad Petersson Alternate: Thomas Løvold Karlstads CK, Karlstad Skip: Niklas Edin Third: Sebastian Kraupp Second: Fredrik Lindberg Lead: Viktor Kjäll Alternate: Oskar ErikssonCC St. Galler Bär, St. Gallen Fourth: Ralph Stöckli Third: Jan Hauser Skip: Markus Eggler** Lead: Simon Strübin Alternate: Toni MüllerDuluth CC, Duluth Skip: John Shuster Third: Jason Smith Second: Jeff Isaacson Lead: John Benton Alternate: Chris Plys *Throws third rocks **Throws second rocks

Women's Calgary WC, Calgary Skip: Cheryl Bernard Third: Susan O'Connor Second: Carolyn Darbyshire Lead: Cori Bartel Alternate: Kristie Moore Harbin CC, Harbin Skip: Wang Bingyu Third: Liu Yin Second: Yue Qingshuang Lead: Zhou Yan Alternate: Liu Jinli Tårnby CC, Tårnby Fourth: Madeleine Dupont Third: Denise Dupont Skip: Angelina Jensen* Lead: Camilla Jensen Alternate: Ane Hansen SC Riessersee, Garmisch-Partenkirchen Skip: Andrea Schöpp Third: Monika Wagner Second: Melanie Robillard Lead: Stella Heiß Alternate: Corinna Scholz British Olympic Committee Skip: Eve Muirhead Third: Jackie Lockhart Second: Kelly Wood Lead: Lorna Vevers Alternate: Anne Laird Aomori CC, Aomori Skip: Moe Meguro Third: Anna Ohmiya Second: Mari Motohashi Lead: Kotomi Ishizaki Alternate: Mayo Yamaura Moskvitch CC, Moscow Skip: Ludmila Privivkova Third: Anna Sidorova** Second: Nkeiruka Ezekh Lead: Ekaterina Galkina Alternate: Margarita FominaHärnösands CK, Härnösand Skip: Anette Norberg Third: Eva Lund Second: Cathrine Lindahl Lead: Anna Le Moine Alternate: Kajsa Bergström Davos CC, Davos Skip: Mirjam Ott Third: Carmen Schäfer Second: Carmen Küng Lead: Janine Greiner Alternate: Irene SchoriMadison CC, Madison Skip: Debbie McCormick*** Third: Allison Pottinger*** Second: Nicole Joraanstad Lead: Natalie Nicholson Alternate: Tracy Sachtjen *Throws second rocks

**The World Curling Federation had Olga Jarkova listed as the Third. However, a press release by the Vancouver Organizing Committee has Anna Sidorova listed as Third.

***On February 21, 2010, Debbie McCormick switched to throwing third, with Allison Pottinger throwing fourth.

Qualification Performances at the 2007, 2008 and 2009 World Curling Championships decided which countries were able to send curling teams to the 2010 Olympics. Points were distributed in the following manner, with the top 9 teams (excluding hosts Canada) qualifying for the Olympics.

Position at WC Number of points 1 14212310495867768594103112121

In case of a tie during the 2007 World championships, the points were split (for example, if two teams tied for tenth place, they would receive 2.5 points). For the 2008 and 2009 championships, such ties were broken according to head-to-head matchups, and if necessary, by the draw shot challenge. Canada, as the host nation, qualified automatically. Scotland's points counted as Great Britain (Scotland does not compete at the Olympic level separately).

Men's standings Country200720082009Total14141240*3.5121429.51257241068243.5101023.5929206.58519.53.54613.5–941383–113.57–10.56.5–17.5–123––331––1

*Scotland, England and Wales all compete separately in international curling. By an agreement between the curling federations of those three home nations, only Scotland can score Olympic qualification points for Great Britain.

Women's standings Country 2007 2008 2009 Total1414937612143212810307.571226.57.510825.596419*103518456154471549–131.5214.5––331.51–2.5––22 *Scotland, England and Wales all compete separately in international curling. By an agreement between the curling federations of those three home nations, only Scotland can score Olympic qualification points for Great Britain.

Olympic curling trials 2009 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials 2010 United States Olympic Curling Trials 2009 Swiss Olympic Curling Trials

Men's tournament

Women's tournament

See also Wheelchair curling at the 2010 Winter Paralympics

References

External links Vancouver 2010 official website World Curling Federation's official website Olympic Games Qualification standings Qualification System Olympic Curling Competition Draw Schedule AP Winter Games Video Essay: The Mysteries of Curling AP Winter Games: Curling