Canada’s Middaugh defeats Sweden’s Norberg to clinch playoffs at 2026 World Seniors

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND — A perennial Scotties Tournament of Hearts favourite takes on a Swedish two-time Olympic gold medallist and three-time world women’s champion. It’s exactly the primetime match-up curling fans would clamour for.

And on Wednesday afternoon at the 2026 ACE & Company World Senior Curling Championships, fans got exactly that.

On one side: Sherry Middaugh, Canadian Trials silver medallist and seven-time Scotties veteran. On the other hand, Anette Norberg, Sweden’s Olympic gold medallist from 2006 and 2010. All this action played out during the round robin at Centre Sportif-Moulin’s Curling Club Trois-Chêne Genève.

The Canadian squad from Barrie, Ont.—skip Middaugh, third/vice-skip Karri-Lee Grant, second Melissa Foster, lead Jane Hooper Perroud, and coach Wayne Middaugh—topped Sweden’s Team Norberg 7-4 in eight ends.

Up by two and without the hammer, Canada played a strong eighth end. Grant’s double peel kept things open, and the Canadians locked it down by Middaugh freezing onto Sweden’s shot stone. Norberg had a shot at an in-off double-takeout to tie, but caught it just a bit too thick.

“Playing her felt pretty much the same. She has great draw weight, and I thought we had to keep her hitting, but she can still throw it high and hard,” Middaugh said. “I thought for sure she was going to make the in-off for the deuce, but she threw it just a bit tight, which was nice for us. She still has all the shots, which we expect from an Olympic dual gold medallist and world champion. It just shows you that even we old ladies can make good shots.”

It’s rare to see two curling icons collide this early at the World Seniors, but that’s exactly what happened. Both teams came in undefeated, but with this win, Canada jumps to 3-0 and takes the lead in the pool over Sweden,now 2-1. The victory also clinched Canada’s spot in the playoffs.

This is Norberg’s fourth shot at the World Seniors podium, and she’s still hunting for the podium. But with a star-studded lineup—Cathrine Lindahl and Anna Le Moine (her Olympic gold-winning teammates), plus 2006 alternate Ulrika Bergman—this could be her year.

Despite all that Olympic experience, the Canadians kept Sweden on their toes, forcing Norberg to draw for single points in the first, third, and fifth ends.

Canada picked up two points in both the second and fourth ends. In the second, Grant’s double turned the momentum, and a missed takeout by Norberg set up Middaugh for a tidy draw for two. In the fourth, Norberg flashed a hit, leaving Canada a chance at a big score. They considered a split for three, but settled for a tap for two and a 4-2 halftime lead.

“Karri-Lee played perfectly, she made every huge shot, and she had some really difficult ones; a lot of freezes and that nice double peel in the eighth,” Middaugh said. “She played amazing, which we know she’s capable of because we’ve seen it for seven years. It was really important for all of us to perform and have that confidence going into the quarterfinals.”

Norberg’s draw weight paid off in the sixth, letting Sweden steal a point and tie things up. Back-to-back button draws from Norberg left Canada no choice but to hit and surrender the steal.

In the seventh, Canada split the house and scored their third deuce of the game, thanks to another sharp draw from Middaugh. That gave them a two-point cushion heading into the final end.

Next up: Canada faces Slovenia’s Team Alenka Omerzel (0-3) in their final round-robin game on Thursday at 2 p.m. (all times Eastern).

Once the round robin wraps up, all team records are merged and ranked to decide which eight squads make the playoffs, which kick off with the quarterfinals Friday at 8 a.m.

So far, Canada, Scotland, Germany and Switzerland have booked their spots.

Meanwhile, Canada’s Team Bruce Korte from Saskatoon enjoyed a day off on Wednesday, but the scoreboard still worked in their favour, confirming their spot in the playoffs. Korte, third/vice-skip Darrell McKee, second Kory Kohuch, lead Rory Golanowski, and alternate Arlen Hall are back in action Thursday at 6 a.m. against Ireland’s Team Bill Gray (1-2).

A win would put Team Korte in prime position to snag one of four byes to Friday evening’s quarterfinals, thanks to their unbeaten record and top Last Stone Draw distance. Teams ranked 5th to 12th will battle it out earlier for the final quarterfinal spots.

The women’s and men’s medal matches are scheduled for Saturday at 8 a.m.

For the latest scores, draws, and team lists, visit the event’s official scoring website.

Live streaming of games is available on Centre Sportif Sous-Moulin’s Curling Club Trois-Chêne Genève’s YouTube Channel.