Canada's Sarah Wilkes, Rachel Homan and Emma Miskew compete against Denmark in a round-robin match on Thursday.Al Bello/Getty Images
Rachel Homan’s Canadian team started its bid for Olympic gold with a confident-looking 10-4 win over Denmark that needed just seven ends on Thursday.
The skip Homan, lead Sarah Wilkes, second Emma Miskew and third Tracy Fleury won the first of Canada’s nine round-robin games in the women’s Olympic curling bonspiel, clearing off the ice in under two hours.
“It feels great to get everyone out there for their first Olympic real game slides and throws and just really cool moment to share,” said Homan after the game, wearing a delicate gold maple leaf earring and necklace set.
Canada is the favourite for gold in Cortina, and the world’s top-ranked women’s team. Team Canada hasn’t topped the women’s Olympic curling podium since Team Jennifer Jones did it at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.
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This marks Homan’s third straight Olympic appearance but she has yet to reach the podium.
Since the start of the 2023-24 season, Homan, Fleury, Miskew and Wilkes have been the most dominant women’s team in the granite game.
They won back-to-back Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 2024 and 2025 going a perfect 22-0, as well as the past two titles at the World Women’s Curling Championship and seven Grand Slam titles.
Team Canada in action against Denmark.Issei Kato/Reuters
On Thursday, Homan’s draw for two in the first end launched Canada out to a fast lead.
But Denmark evened the score in the second and then managed a steal for one in the third to pull ahead.
Canada stuck to its game plan knowing the Danes love to draw, led by skip Madeleine Dupont and her sister, lead and five-time Olympian Denise Dupont.
Canada scored a single in the fourth end to knot up the game again but then made its big jump in the fifth.
Team Homan was sitting five, and Denmark with the hammer was only able to count them down one, allowing Canada a massive steal of four and a 7-3 lead.
The businesslike Canadians didn’t celebrate much as they gathered at their bench for the mid-game break to snack on protein bites.
Denmark answered with a single in the sixth end before Fleury threw a couple of beautiful shots to clear out Danish stones in the seventh, setting up a triple for Canada, and Denmark conceded.
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“The team played really well. Everyone had their draw weight locked in and hit lines were looking really good, so a good start,” said Wilkes. “It’s loud, and there’s flags everywhere, and it’s just a really exciting environment.”
Canada was pleased with the win but measured. They return to the ice Friday against the U.S.
“It’s a long week,” said national women’s team coach Viktor Kjell. “We take one rock, one end at a time, like, that’s the kind of mentality that we have right now.”
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