Canada’s Rachel Homan defeated Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni 7-5 on Sunday to win gold at the world women’s curling championship.
Homan made a split to score three points in the ninth end. The Swiss didn’t have a shot for a game-tying deuce in the 10th end and conceded before throwing their final stone.
The win ended Canada’s six-year title drought at this event. It was Homan’s first world crown since taking gold at the 2017 playdowns in Beijing.
Jennifer Jones was the last Canadian to win world gold, finishing first in 2018 in North Bay, Ont.
Homan and her team of third Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew and lead Sarah Wilkes picked up where they left off after running the table at the national championship last month.
Canada was 11-1 in round-robin play at Centre 200 and beat South Korea’s Eunji Gim in the semifinal.
That set up the top-ranked Ottawa-based rink for a showdown with the second-ranked Tirinzoni, who had won four straight world titles.
Homan’s side entered with confidence after winning all four head-to-head meetings against Tirinzoni this season. The Canadian also ended Tirinzoni’s 42-game win streak at this competition earlier in the week.
As first seed, Canada started with hammer but the Swiss forced Homan to draw for one in the opening end.
The host team made some small mistakes in the early going.
Miskew hit and rolled out in the second end and Homan’s freeze attempt was slightly off. That allowed Swiss fourth Alina Paetz to make a soft hit for two.
Canada was forced again in the third end and Homan’s final stone undercurled in the fourth to set up a Swiss hit for two.
Paetz was heavy on back-to-back throws in the fifth end to allow Canada to pull even with a pair of its own.
Two blanks preceded an eighth end with rocks in play. Fleury made a hit that rolled frozen on the button and Tirinzoni couldn’t blast out the Canadian stones.
Homan made a hit to sit four and Paetz was forced to draw for one.
In the critical ninth end, Homan made two great shots that turned the game.
Her rocket double-takeout left Canada sitting three. Paetz made a double-takeout that left Canada as shot stone with two Swiss stones on the back of the 12-foot ring.
Canada’s Rachel Homan, left, celebrates with teammates after winning the 2024 World Women’s Curling Championship. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press)
Homan tapped her own rock near the top of the house and both stones rolled in to score three, thrilling the near-sellout crowd of 4,373.
The win improved Homan’s season record to 62-6. She improved to 24-8 in career head-to-head matchups against Tirinzoni.
Earlier, Gim defeated Italy’s Stefania Constantini 6-3 to win the bronze medal.
Homan and Miskew were named competition all-stars at their respective positions. Sweden’s Sara McManus took the nod at third and Swiss lead Carole Howald was named top lead.
Overall attendance at the nine-day event was 45,602. Uijeongbu, South Korea will host next year’s world women’s championship.
The world men’s curling championship begins Saturday in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Brad Gushue of St. John’s, N.L., will skip the Canadian team.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 24, 2024
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
