The U.S. women's curling team was surprised to learn from AP reporters that their defeat of Canada on Friday marked an Olympic first.
“If that's true," caveated Minneapolis native Taylor Anderson-Heide, "I think we just played a really good game. They're No. 1 in the world.”
Tara Peterson, from Shoreview, Minnesota, chimed in: “It just always feels really good to beat (Canada skip) Rachel Homan. So any team to beat them, that’s pretty impressive."
Peterson, like Anderson-Heide, couldn't help but add a qualifier to her response: "Apparently, we’ve never beat them in the Olympics before. That makes it just extra special."
Though the athletes sounded somewhat unsure of AP's intel, it's true. Since 1998, when women's curling was introduced at the Olympics, teams from the U.S. and Canada have played at least once in each games. The U.S. has lost every time.
The U.S. men have beaten Canada, however, notably in the Olympic final in 2018.
Canada’s Team Homan has for years been considered the best in the world.
In Friday’s nail-biting match that went 9-8, the U.S. managed to capitalize on a few weak shots by Canada and clinch the victory. After the win, the Americans walked together down the ice and back to their coaches, raising fists in triumph.
Peterson said she thought the Canadians were less sharp than normal.
This year's American women's curling team — like their Gen-Z men's counterparts — meld approachability with ambition.
Alongside Anderson-Heide and Peterson, the team includes skip Tabitha Peterson, who's Tara's older sister, as well as cool-as-a-cucumber Cory Thiesse, who has already won a silver medal in the mixed doubles event.
Aileen Geving, from Minnesota, is an alternate.
Three of them have jobs other than curling, and three are mothers to young children. Tara's a dentist, Tabitha's a pharmacist and Thiesse a lab technician.
Tara gave birth to her son, Eddie, in September 2024 and a few months later, Tabitha had a daughter, Noelle. Geving had daughter Sienna directly following the 2018 Games.
They have several matches left in the round-robin before the semifinals on Friday. They've won two matches, against Korea and Canada and and lost one, against Sweden.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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