Married couple Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant, left, seen here in 2016, secured Canada’s Olympic berth last May at the world championship.Martial Trezzini/The Associated Press
Mixed doubles curling brought Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman together a decade ago. Now, the two are married and set to represent Canada as a team at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
The Olympic berth in this discipline has been a long time coming for the two curlers, who have each played in the Olympics before, but never together.
When Gallant heard in 2015 that mixed doubles would be added to the Olympic curling program for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, it prompted him to ask Peterman if she’d like to start curling with him. Their skill sets seemed a good match for the two-person discipline.
They paired up in 2016 and soon also started dating, although neither can really pinpoint when their first date was, because their relationship evolved so naturally, both on and off the ice. Maybe, they say, it was a lunch after training or chatting over coffee. They married in 2022, and now live in Chestermere, Alta. with their two-year-old son, Luke.
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They didn’t qualify as a mixed doubles team for the 2018 Olympics, losing in the semis of the Canadian trials. Peterman and Gallant each played in the 2022 Beijing Olympics, but separately – as members of Canada’s four-player women’s and men’s teams.
“It’s surreal to finally achieve it when it’s been on our bucket list to do as a couple for a long time,” said Peterman.
Gallant, 35, originally from Charlottetown, PEI, and 32-year-old Peterman from Red Deer, Alta. won the Canadian mixed doubles trials last January. They secured Canada’s Olympic berth last May at the world championship, and were the first athletes named to the 2026 Canadian Olympic team in any sport. Now they will also be the country’s first to compete at Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
The mixed doubles competition begins in Cortina on Wednesday, Feb. 4 – two days before the Opening Ceremony – with Gallant and Peterman starting against Czechia.
Once mixed doubles ends, Gallant will throw second stones for Canada’s men’s team in Cortina, skipped by Brad Jacobs. Gallant will be the first Canadian curler to compete in two disciplines at the same Winter Games.
Team Jacobs, from left to right, Brad Jacobs, Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant, and Ben Hebert, qualified for the Olympics by winning the Canadian Olympic curling trials over Team Dunstone in November, 2025.Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press
Up until 2023, Curling Canada had a rule that prevented its curlers from playing in both disciplines at the Olympics, because they wanted their curlers to focus on one and not risk fatigue. But other nations played both and found it advantageous. In addition to giving curlers two chances at the podium, playing first in mixed doubles gives teams valuable insight into the ice conditions and the rocks.
Come time for the men’s competition, Gallant will already be very familiar with the playing conditions at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.
“It’s gonna be a lot of curling, and so it will be about maximizing the rest and recovery mentally and physically,” said Gallant. “We’ve had a year to prepare on the doubles side, training together, lots of planning, scouting. The preparedness is there more than it ever has been on the mixed double side of things.”
Mixed doubles curling is a fast-paced, two-person game with five stones per side. Succeeding requires elite draw weight precision, top sweeping capability, and great communication between partners.
The discipline is to be played at the Olympics for just the third time. When it debuted at the 2018 Olympics, Canadians John Morris and Kaitlyn Lawes won gold. John Morris then paired with Rachel Homan at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, but they didn’t make the playoffs.
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“We really want to be on that podium,” said Peterman.
While making their Olympic debuts in mixed doubles, Peterman and Gallant are each going to their second Games. Gallant captured an Olympic bronze medal in Beijing as a second for the Canadian team skipped by Brad Gushue, while Peterman finished off the podium as a member of Team Jennifer Jones.
While the Beijing Olympics, held under strict COVID-19 protocols, didn’t allow any fans in the stands, Peterman and Gallant will have a big group of family making this Olympic trip to Italy. That group will include their toddler son Luke, cared for by his grandparents in a rental house.
Being both a family and a curling team comes naturally to Peterman and Gallant.
“People are shocked when I say we don’t really talk curling much around the house or on the dinner table ... I think that’s why it’s sustainable,” said Peterman. “When it’s not time to have a pre-game or a post-game meeting, or when we’re not at a competition, we’re just enjoying each other’s company and every aspect of who we are outside of curling.”