Curling has slid into scandal at the Winter Olympics.
A sport built on trust, respect and self-regulation has been rocked by a cheating row at the Milano-Cortina Games.
The saga began on Friday, when Oskar Eriksson of Sweden accused Canadian Marc Kennedy of breaking the rules by touching the stone again after initially releasing it down the sheet of ice — a violation known as “double-touching”.
Kennedy responded with an expletive-laden outburst that drew widespread attention to a sport that rarely dominates headlines outside the Olympic spotlight.
In response, the sport’s governing body, World Curling, announced that it would monitor matches and deploy additional officials to check for double-touching — even though it was already midway through the Olympic men’s and women’s round-robin competition.
The controversy deepened on Saturday, when officials accused the Canadian women’s team of committing the same violation, triggering a second cheating row within 24 hours.
Several Olympic curlers have said that a double-touch does not necessarily signal an attempt to cheat, noting that a fleeting, accidental graze of the granite can happen in the split second after release.
Strictly penalising such minor contact, some argued, risks punishing mishaps rather than misconduct.
By Sunday afternoon — with players and coaches fed up with the increased surveillance — World Curling reversed course following a meeting with national federations.
Umpires would step back from routine monitoring, the governing body said, remaining available on request rather than overseeing every shot by default.
Why would Olympic curlers — competing in a sport where centimetres can separate victory from defeat — choose to send the umpires away?
The answer lies in curling’s long-standing ethos: a culture of self-policing and mutual trust that many athletes are determined to preserve, even as the game grows more global, more professional and more intensely scrutinised.
“I think there’s a lot of pride in trying to be a sport that kind of officiates ourselves a little bit, so to speak,” said Nolan Thiessen, CEO of Curling Canada, whose teams have been at the heart of the uproar over the past several days.
“I think it was just everybody taking a deep breath and going, OK, let’s just finish this Olympics the way we know our sport is to be played.”
Beyond the rink, curling has unexpectedly found viral appeal online, drawing viewers who are as entertained by the chemistry of mixed doubles as they are by the broom-sweeping theatrics, often likened to housekeeping turned high-stakes competition.
News
New clues emerge in Lynette Hooker’s disappearance: Police discover irregularities in her husband’s phone, and messages sent before her disappearance spark outrage… 👇👇
The disappearance of Lynette Hooker has entered a critical phase as investigators uncover irregularities in her husband’s phone—along with a series of messages sent shortly before she vanished. What initially appeared to be a routine digital review is now raising serious questions about timing, intent, and what may have happened in the hours leading up […]
They laughed at her the first time they saw apples shining on her roof like pieces of gold.
They laughed at her the first time they saw apples shining on her roof like pieces of gold. Not quietly. Not kindly. The kind of laughter that travels. From the porch of the general store in Ashaow Valley, men leaned against wooden posts, squinting up at the ridge where Martha Wickfield’s cabin clung to the […]
JUST NOW: Amy Hillyard left home without her phone or wallet, then appeared miles away on camera — investigators are now asking whether this was confusion, intention, or something else entirely… 👇
A critical gap in the timeline is now at the center of the investigation into the disappearance of Amy Hillyard—and it may hold the key to everything. Police have confirmed two fixed points: She was seen and accounted for at 2:00 PM She was again traceable at 4:30 PM But what happened in the two-and-a-half […]
A billionaire discovers his ex-wife carrying firewood with their twins The road was silent, scorched by the afternoon sun
The road was silent, scorched by the afternoon sun, when a woman bent beneath a bundle of firewood took another trembling step. Dust clung to her skin. Two little girls followed behind her, barefoot, their faces far too serious for their age. Then a black luxury SUV stopped. Inside, a powerful man forgot how to […]
LIVE: The room falls silent as Gerhardt Konig reacts unexpectedly when the prosecutor announces new evidence… 👇👇
A tense and unexpected moment has unfolded during the latest courtroom session involving Gerhardt Konig, as observers described a brief but deliberate gesture that quickly became the focus of attention. According to those present, Konig—who had remained largely silent—suddenly signaled toward the courtroom door. What followed shortly afterward has drawn scrutiny from both investigators and […]
JUST NOW IN COURT: The final hearing in the case of Gerhardt Konig takes a turn — a brief gesture is now being closely watched… 👇👇
A tense and unexpected moment has unfolded during the latest courtroom session involving Gerhardt Konig, as observers described a brief but deliberate gesture that quickly became the focus of attention. According to those present, Konig—who had remained largely silent—suddenly signaled toward the courtroom door. What followed shortly afterward has drawn scrutiny from both investigators and […]
End of content
No more pages to load
