Married couples and siblings turn emotion into an edge in Milano-Cortina’s mixed doubles curling, balancing heated on-ice clashes with family life and rituals.
Three married couples competing in mixed doubles curling at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics have turned their relationships into a competitive advantage, using heated exchanges on the ice and cooling-off routines afterwards to manage the pressures of elite sport.
Norway's Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten, bronze medallists at PyeongChang in 2018 and silver medallists at Beijing in 2022, have developed what they call the "hot wash" — a post-match ritual where they each express one emotion before separating for half an hour.
"Just after finishing a game, we say one emotion to each other. I will say I'm angry, she will say 'I'm pissed.' Then we go for half an hour to our separate spaces and come back together to analyse what was actually the objective," Nedregotten said.
The couple have been seen screaming at each other, exchanging stony glances and rejecting high-fives during matches at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, where the mixed doubles semifinals approach.
"We're married, so we know to just get the feelings out there and move on," Skaslien said.
'First time my mum heart was bleeding'
Canada's Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, and Switzerland's Yannick Schwaller and Briar Schwaller-Hürlimann, both brought their children to the Games.
The Swiss couple exchanged a quick kiss before their match, while photos of their one-year-old son River carrying a broom nearly double his size made him an overnight sensation in the curling community.
"After today's game, when I had to give him back, he was crying and it was hard for me. That was the first time my mum heart was bleeding," Schwaller-Hürlimann said.
Mixed doubles curling requires constant consultation between partners about stone placement, often involving shouted commands across the ice that are audible to crowds and opposing teams.
"There's only two of you. You're on an island," said Devin Heroux, a curling commentator for Canadian public broadcaster CBC.
Scott Pfeifer, Canada's coach, said Peterman and Gallant maintain professional conduct that disguises their marriage.
"They're both very professional in the way they handle things," he said.
Gallant acknowledged communication remains "honestly, always a work in progress" but said success follows when it flows well.
Honky-tonk curling party
Skaslien first spotted Nedregotten in 2008 at the European Curling Championship, where he was working on the ice crew and "running around the stands" wearing a wig and sporting the Norwegian flag on his stomach.
They spoke for the first time at a honky-tonk curling party in spring 2011.
When Skaslien left for an internship abroad, Nedregotten volunteered to "water her plants" — effectively moving into her flat. A year later they teamed up for mixed doubles.
Schwaller admitted to being the occasional instigator in arguments with his wife.
"In the past, I was like just really nice and now sometimes I'm not nice. So I need to apologise and everything is good again," he said.
Once rivals, now a team, always siblings
Sweden's Rasmus and Isabella Wranå, the only brother-and-sister team in the field, grew up as rivals before teaming up for the Olympics.
Their coach Alison Kreviazuk said siblings are easier to coach than married couples.
"If you quarrel with your siblings, you find a way back. They're used to that dynamic of maybe play-fighting a little bit," she said.
Bella can be on the hotter end, and Rasmus is very cool, so it's a good combination," Kreviazuk added.
The mixed doubles medal matches will be held on Tuesday.