CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) 鈥� The U.S. women’s team was surprised to learn that their defeat of on Friday marked an Olympic first.
鈥淚f that’s true,” caveated native Taylor Anderson-Heide said after the 9-8 nailbiter, “I think we just played a really good game. They’re No. 1 in the world.鈥�
Tara Peterson of Shoreview, Minnesota, chimed in: 鈥淚t just always feels really good to beat (Canada skip) Rachel Homan. So any team to beat them, that鈥檚 pretty impressive.”
Until Friday, the American women had never beaten Canada — a perennial favorite that has medaled in every Winter Games since curling was added to in 1998. The U.S. men beat the Canadians for the first time in the 2018 round-robin and en route to their in Pyeongchang.
Canada鈥檚 Team Homan has for years been considered the best in the world.
In Friday鈥檚 match, the U.S. managed to capitalize on a few weak shots by Canada. After the win, the Americans walked together down the ice and back to their coaches, raising fists in triumph.
Peterson, like Anderson-Heide, couldn鈥檛 help but add a qualifier to her response to questions from The Associated Press: 鈥淎pparently, we鈥檝e never beat them in the Olympics before. That makes it just extra special.鈥�
This year’s American women’s curling team 鈥� like their Gen-Z men’s counterparts 鈥� meld with . 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 is a dentist, Tabitha 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 following the 2018 Games.
They have several matches left in the round-robin before the semifinals next Friday. The are 2-1 after Friday’s match, with a win against Korea and loss to Sweden alongside the milestone.
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This story has been corrected to show the U.S. men beat Canada in 2018 semifinal, not final, in 4th paragraph.
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