Team Rachel Homan has rallied to earn a spot in the final four.
The Canadian women’s curling rink beat South Korea’s Team Gim Eun-ji 10-7 in a win-and-in, Olympic round-robin finale on Thursday.
Canada (6-3) won its final five games of the round robin to secure a semifinal spot at Milano Cortina 2026.
“That’s one way to get a semi,” Homan told CBC Olympics. “We fought hard for everything. Obviously, a slow start and we just kept our belief. We were playing really good. Just on the wrong side of the inch.
“Just kind of tried to figure out how to get to the other side. Just kept clawing and kept sticking together. I’m just so proud of my team this week, giving Canada a chance to get in that semi. We’ll give it all we have (Friday).”
Canada finished fourth and will play first-place Team Anna Hasselborg of Sweden in a semifinal on Friday. Team USA’s Tabitha Peterson will face Switzerland’s Team Silvana Tirinzoni in the other semifinal after Peterson made a draw to the four-foot in an extra end to beat the Swiss in their round-robin finale.
Peterson needed the win to make the playoffs.
The semifinals are Friday (8:05 a.m. ET / 5:05 a.m. PT, CBC Gem, Sportsnet+).
Homan, who skips the world’s top-ranked team, was excellent against South Korea with all the marbles on the line.
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Women’s Olympic curling standings, schedule, results
Team Rachel Homan will try to get Canada back on the Olympic podium for the first time since 2014 this month in Italy. Follow all the action with Sportsnet.
“We’ve been in a must-win situation pretty much this whole week. Just more of the same, really,” Homan told CBC Olympics.
A locked-in Homan pumped her fist and clenched her teeth after making a great thin double for two in the fourth, putting Canada up 4-3.
The game turned in the sixth end. Homan made a double with her first stone and after a Korean miss, the Ottawa native drew for four to give Canada an 8-4 lead.
Any thoughts of Korean comeback basically ended the next end when Homan forced the Koreans to draw for one against four Canada stones.
Team Homan responded to early adversity at the Olympics, including a controversial double-touch call against the skip in a loss against Switzerland. Homan was livid after the ruling and ripped the officials afterward.
The 1-3 start had curling fans wondering if Homan was going to miss the playoffs at the Olympics for a third straight time. Her women’s rink fell short in 2018 and then Homan and John Morris missed the mixed-doubles playoffs in 2022.
“It means everything,” Homan said of making the playoffs. “It’s been a long week. This is what we’ve trained for, what we’ve prepared for for Canada. We couldn’t ask for anything more in this moment.”