Peterman & Gallant mixed doubles curling Olympic medal hopes end in disappointment

The Olympic medal dream of Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant came to a disappointing and frustrating end Sunday evening on the ice of the Cortina Olympic Curling Stadium.

Needing to win their final two games to have a chance at staying alive, the Canadians fell 9-5 to Korea’s Kim Seon-yeong and Jeong Yeong-seok. It was Canada’s fifth straight loss after starting the tournament with three consecutive wins.

“It hurts,” said a disappointed Gallant, who will shift his focus after Monday’s final round robin game to the four-player competition as part of Canada’s men’s team skipped by Brad Jacobs. “For sure it’s not the result we came here for.

“We’re disappointed, but it was special to be here with our families and to wear the maple leaf on our backs. We wanted to get on the podium, that was our goal. Yes, it’s an accomplishment to make it here but that wasn’t our goal.”

After losing to Sweden earlier in the day, Canada’s only playoff hope was to win their final games and have defending Olympic champion Italy lose its last two games. Italy’s Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosander did lose to Great Britain 9-6.

Peterman and Gallant started the Olympic tournament strong and after the three straight wins looked poised to be playoff contenders. But they had difficulty adjusting to the changing ice conditions in a 7-5 loss to the United States, giving up three in the seventh in what turned out to be a game and tournament-changing end.

The husband-and-wife team from Chestermere, Alta., never regained their equilibrium through further losses to Great Britain, Estonia, Sweden and, finally, Korea.

Although there is one draw remaining in the round robin Monday morning, Great Britain, the United States, Italy and Sweden have clinched the four playoff spots.

Great Britain (Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat) finished atop the standings at 8-1. The United States (Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin) are at 6-2 followed by Italy (Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner) 5-3 and Sweden (Isabella Wranå and Rasmus Wranå) 5-4.

Canada and Korea traded singles in the first two ends. A Gallant double and Peterman’s draw into a pocket resulted in a Canadian deuce in the third for a 3-1 lead. But the Koreans, who were aggressive offensively throughout the game, filled the house in the fourth end and flipped the game in their favour with a three-spot. Peterman came up short on her final stone and Kim had a short hit and roll for the 4-3 lead.

Kim and Jeong took control of the game by stealing two in the fifth when Peterman’s attempt at a hit-and-roll, something she struggled without throughout the tournament, turned into a nose hit.

“I felt like we had a good handle on the ice,” Peterman said afterwards. “Not the greatest end in the fourth. The steal of two I guess is the key.”

The teams traded deuces in the sixth and seventh and Korea stole one in the eighth for the final margin of victory.