10 teams battle on NBC networks
Olympic Trials season is upon us.
Like Canada, the United States is hosting their Mixed Doubles Trials a year in advance of the 2026 Games in Italy.
Unlike Canada, the U.S. Mixed Doubles Trials are also serving as the national championship, and they’ll be broadcast on streaming service Peacock with the semifinals and finals also televised on CNBC.
The Trials kick off today, Feb. 17 and bring televised curling back to Rock Creek Curling in Lafayette, Colorado. The event features a 10-team round robin followed by a page playoff and a best-of-three final to determine the champions and representatives at the world championship and, hopefully, the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics.
While each team carries different expectations, all 10 earned their spot at the Trials and deserve recognition. The pairings are listed in the order they qualified for the Trials.
The Hamiltons
The Hamilton siblings, Rebecca and Matt, are no stranger to the mixed doubles format. They are three-time U.S. national champions in the discipline, and they were also the national reps when mixed doubles made its Olympic debut at PyeongChang 2018.
Becca and Matt have also competed in four-person events at both the 2018 and 2022 games.
After the 2024 championship at Traverse City—a wild victory over Thiesse/Dropkin—the Hamiltons went on to a 10th-place finish at the world championships in Sweden. Their past successes at Olympic Trials in both disciplines should serve them well, and they always figure to be a contender in doubles.
Thiesse/ Dropkin
It’s safe to say both Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin have had their fair share of highs and lows over the past few seasons. After their 2023 nationals win, the Duluth duo went on to win the United States’ first-ever world gold in the mixed doubles discipline in Gangneung, Korea.
They seemed poised for a chance to defend their title, winning every game at the 2024 nationals in convincing fashion—until they reached the final, where they lost in heartbreaking fashion.
For a while this season, I wondered if they were still feeling the impacts of that game creep into the four-person discipline, but after Thiesse’s Team Peterson won women’s gold and Dropkin’s Young Bucks won the men’s gold, I think it’s safe to say any demons that may have been lingering have been exorcised. Look out for Cory and Korey.
Geving/Shuster
This season marks the third for Aileen Geving and John Shuster competing together in mixed doubles. They improved on 2023’s fifth-place finish with the bronze medal at Traverse City in 2024.
This season, they’ve only played in one event—the Madtown Doubledown—and were eliminated in a C-qualifier against reigning world silver medalists Kaldvee/Lill of Estonia.
But can you ever count out this team in an Olympic Trials event? Geving has been on the Olympic squad for each of the past two Winter Games, and Shuster has been an Olympic fixture since 2006. I don’t think this team can be ignored at any event where the lights are shining brightest.
Anderson/Stopera
Sarah Anderson and Andrew Stopera have seen their fair share of time on the mixed doubles podium, winning seven medals between them. Anderson won two national golds and a bronze with Korey Dropkin while Stopera has been a fixture in the second-place spot on the podium, winning silver in three of the last five years.
The most recent silver was won with Anderson in 2023, and the prior two runner-up finishes came with Madison Bear.
Both curlers have relocated to the Midwest from the eastern U.S. and have shown themselves to be one of the most consistent mixed doubles teams in the country. They were the top finisher in August’s Pre-Trials qualifier. Don’t be surprised if they find themselves back in the playoffs.
Bear/Oldenburg
This week is full of USA Curling High Performance athletes, and from this group the Madison Bear and Aidan Oldenburg combo are probably the biggest wild card. The duo went 4-3 and missed out on the playoffs at last year’s nationals, but rebounded by finishing second at the Pre-Trials in Chaska last August to earn their berth.
They had a strong showing at the Madtown Doubledown in November, taking Australia’s Gill/Hewitt to the last rock. Bear and Oldenburg may be the youngest team in the field, but they’re look to make a splash in Lafayette.
Moores/Wheeler
One of two Denver-area teams competing in Colorado this week, Clare Moores and Lance Wheeler are going to have the home crowd behind them. Moores and Wheeler are one of the only teams in the field who have done a little more traveling on the mixed doubles circuit over the past few years.
At each of the last three national championships, the pairing have found themselves one win away from the playoffs. Will this be the year their fortune changes?
Anderson-Heide/Richardson
Like a number of other teams whose mixed doubles partners got shuffled around after the 2022 Olympics, Taylor Anderson-Heide and Ben Richardson are on their third season together. They’ve qualified for the playoffs in each of the last two years, and both times they found themselves in the bronze medal match after losing to the eventual gold medal winner in the semifinal.
With Taylor coming off a victory at the women’s fours nationals, and Richardson with a silver medal finish, I’d probably put them in the same tier as Andrew Stopera, and Taylor’s twin Sarah Anderson. This is not a team you want to have to face.
Daly/Violette
It’s impressive to see Lexi Daly and Luc Violette at the Trials, as they teamed up less than a year ago. Duluth’s Daly and Seattle’s Violette may not have played a ton of mixed doubles together, but both are accomplished curlers in the four-person discipline. I watched a few of their games in Madison at the Madtown Doubledown and was impressed with what I saw.
They notched a win over world number one Kaldvee/Lill in a B-qualifier only to have to have to match up again with them in the first round of the playoffs. Even with a limited time as a team, it seems they’re figuring out how to work together at just the right time.
Roth/Nernberger
Before Nina Roth and Kroy Nernberger took the ice at the 48-team Last Chance Trials Qualifier in November, Roth said that “having an Olympic dream has truly defined my life.” The Madison Curling Club duo went on an undefeated run across seven games to earn a berth at Rock Creek and keep their Olympic dream kindled.
While Nina has represented the U.S. at each of the last two Olympics, she’s got a very capable partner in Kroy Nernberger. The owner of broom manufacturer End Game Curling, Kroy has competed in past four-player Olympic Trials, and the duo have won three national bronze medals in the mixed doubles discipline together.
Weldon/Franey
The final spot at the Olympic Trials was not awarded until one month ago. The berth was awarded to the highest-ranked team not already qualified, and BriAnna Weldon and Sean Franey’s grind this season has paid off. They were aided by a 3-2 performance at the St. Thomas Mixed Doubles Classic where they notched a victory against 2023 Canadian MD champions Jennifer Jones and Brent Laing.
While it’s probably that BriAnna and Sean are likely going to have an uphill battle all week, the Denver-based team will have a lot of fan support. The two got their start at Orange County Curling Club in California, learning the sport on hockey ice.
To get to where they are this week is a testament to their hard work, but for them, the work isn’t done yet. We will see if they can take advantage of the home crowd advantage in Colorado.