Canada’s Team Einarson earns silver at 2026 BKT World Women’s Curling Championship

Though it wasn’t the result they wanted, Canada’s Team Kerri Einarson upgraded its medal colour at the 2026 BKT World Women’s Curling Championship, presented by Pharmasave.

Switzerland’s Team Xenia Schwaller defeated Canada 7-5 in the gold-medal game at Calgary’s WinSport Arena on Sunday evening.

The silver is the best-ever world championship finish for the team of skip Einarson, third/vice-skip Val Sweeting, second Shannon Birchard, lead Karlee Burgess, alternate Krysten Karwacki, coach Reid Carruthers and national coach Viktor Kjell, who previously claimed bronze in 2022 and 2023.

“It’s pretty amazing to medal on the world stage, and it’s an upgrade from our previous bronze, so it does still feels very special,” Einarson said.

Down by one without hammer in the 10th end, Team Einarson attempted to tap around a close centre guard and knock Switzerland’s shot stone far enough to count. The Canadians made contact, but couldn’t push it far enough away to extend the game.

The young Swiss team — skip Schwaller, third Selina Gafner, second/vice-skip Fabienne Rieder, lead Selina Rychiger — won the World Junior Championship just two years ago and played well beyond their years throughout the event alongside coach John Epping. On her final shot, Schwaller eliminated Canada’s shot stone with a runback to seal the win.

“[Epping] told me I think you should play it now, because if she’s going to guard on her last one, it’s going to be a guard like higher, so make the shot tougher,” Schwaller said. “I think it was the right shot, and obviously it turned out really good to be fully buried behind the guard.”

Team Schwaller controlled the opening half, converting every hammer opportunity and keeping Team Einarson in check. Canada made attempts to wrestle back control, but Switzerland held the momentum for much of the game.

The Canadians had a chance to tie in the ninth on a runback for two, but the stone they drove into the house rolled too far, leaving them trailing by one without hammer heading into the final end.

Schwaller continues Switzerland’s long tradition of excellence in women’s curling, becoming the fifth different skip to win the world title since 2012, joining Mirjam Ott, Binia Feltscher, Alina Paetz and Silvana Tirinzoni.

“I think it just showed us that we need to work a lot to achieve the same thing,” Schwaller said. “We have tough competition back home, and I think it helped us and pushed us even more to work harder and get here.”

Switzerland started with hammer, blanking the first end before drawing for two in the second. Canada tried to set up the third, but Schwaller made a double to sit one, prompting Canada to blank the end. In the fourth, Switzerland came up light on a freeze attempt, and Canada capitalized with a draw for two to tie the game.

Canada continued gaining momentum through the fifth, only to come to an abrupt halt. Team Einarson was in position to force or steal but came up light on a draw, leaving Switzerland with a hit for two and the lead heading into the break.

“They didn’t really miss; they didn’t give us many opportunities, and my draw was just an inch too short,” Einarson said.

In the sixth, Einarson hit-and-rolled her first skip stone to the four-foot looking for separation, but it lined up perfectly for a Switzerland double, forcing Canada to draw for one.

Team Einarson wrestled back control in the seventh, capitalizing on back-to-back Schwaller misses — first a missed runback, then a nose hit that rolled away — to steal the game-tying point.

Switzerland regained the lead in the eighth with another deuce. Canada attempted to hit stacked stones on the centre line and push a Canadian stone into a Swiss stone on the wing, but it slid over top, handing Switzerland the draw for two.

Earlier today, Sweden’s Team Isabella Wranaa won the bronze-medal game against Japan’s Team Satsuki Fujisawa. The 8-5 victory earned Wranaa her second international medal this season after winning gold in mixed doubles at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

The world championship curling series continues this Friday when Canada’s Team Matt Dunstone competes at the 2026 LGT World Men’s Curling Championship at Ogden, Utah.

This story will be available in French as soon as possible at www.curling.ca/fr/2026worldwomen/nouvelles/.