Team Canada giving us dizzying highs and lows
After daunting 0-3 start, something just might be building for Homan’s team
GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA Lisa Weagle has been a member of Rachel Homan’s team since 2010 and she’s been through her fair share of ups and downs with her teammates.
They’ve won big events and they’ve lost a few too, experiencing both the ecstasy and agony that come with those polarized results.
She’s in the middle of another wild ride through the peaks and valleys of the Olympic Games right now — with the heavy expectations of Canadians in tow — and she’s finding out some things about herself and the women she curls with, Homan, Emma Miskew and Joanne Courtney.
“It’s been a lot of emotions over the last couple of days but I’ve never felt closer to my teammates,” Weagle said Sunday, moments after Team Canada pulled out a 10-8 come-from-behind win over Switzerland at the Gangneung Curling Centre.
“We’ve gone through some tough experiences together, not just here but over the years, and to be able to grind through all that and come out the other side feels good.”
After a sputtering start, the Canadians are starting to roll in these Olympic Winter Games. They won their third straight game Monday morning to even their record at 3-3 and get fully back into the playoff conversation. They are tied for fourth place with Great Britain and China, behind Sweden (5-1), South Korea (5-1) and Japan (4-2)
Monday’s 8-3 win over Japan came a day after they came from behind to top Switzerland 10-8.
“They ’re just unbelievably mentally strong,” Homan said of her teammates. “I’m just really proud of my teammates for being able to let go of some tough shots and some tough losses and come back strong.”
If you don’t know this team started 0-3 and was embroiled in some controversy early on at the Olympics, you must be living under a curling rock. The team’s unexpectedly poor start and the burned rock firestorm that occurred Friday have been among the biggest stories of the Games so far.
Another intriguing story was the team’s closed-door meeting after their Friday loss to Denmark. It seemed to bring about a change in the mood, the dynamic and the confidence level of the team.
Now it feels like something just might be building here.
On Monday, they looked every bit like the world champions they are against a strong team from Japan. Canada still needs three wins in its final three round-robin games to be sure it will play for a medal on the weekend.
They are back on the ice Tuesday afternoon against China — midnight ET in Canada. They will still have their backs against the wall, though they are slowly moving away from it.
The 2017 world champions just might thrive in those circumstances anyway.