Day one is complete at the Canadian mixed doubles Olympic trials in London, Nova Scotia.
Three teams with Saskatchewan roots are among the 16-team field that is vying for a spot to represent Canada in mixed doubles curling at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
In Monday’s opening draw, Martensville’s Nancy Martin and Saskatoon’s Steve Laycock faced fellow Saskatoon curler Rylan Kleiter and his partner Brittany Tran. The Tran-Kleiter team earned the last rock advantage in the opening end; however, they conceded a steal of two to Martin and Laycock.
The teams then exchanged single points and the hammer in the second end. Before the fourth end break, Tran-Kleiter scored a deuce and never looked back, scoring the game's final three points for a 6-3 victory.
In the meantime, Humboldt’s Kirk Muyres and his teammate Laura Walker from Edmonton opened up against the Chicoutimi duo of Anne-Sophie Gionest and Robert Desjardins. Muyres-Walker earned the last rock in the opening end by their last shot draw to the button. The advantage wouldn’t pay dividends as Gionest-Desjardins could steal one in the opening end.
Muyres-Walker responded in the second end by scoring a deuce with the hammer. In the third and fourth ends, the teams exchanged points, taking advantage of having the hammer. After the fourth end break, Gionest-Desjardins counted one with the last rock, and the teams traded single points, including in the eighth end when Muyres-Walker scored to force an extra end.
Despite not having the hammer, Muyres-Walker stole three in the extra end to claim an 8-5 win.
Martin-Laycock would face Niagara Falls Jessica Zheng and Victor Pietrangelo in the afternoon draw. Both teams entered the contest with 0-1 records after tough losses in the opening draw. Zheng-Pietrangelo would find their draw weight early, earning the last rock advantage in the opening end, and they would go on the attack right away, scoring a pair. In the second end, Martin-Laycock would score one with the hammer to cut into the lead. Martin-Laycock kept the pressure on in the third end and stole one to even the game at 2-2 entering the fourth end.
In four, Zheng-Pietrangelo were looking for a response, but they would have to settle for a single with hammers for a 3-2 lead at the break. Martin-Laycock would continue to force the issue in the fifth and sixth ends, scoring with and without earning a 4-3 lead and entering the seventh end. However, Zheng-Pietrangelo would come up clutch and score four in the frame before running Martin-Laycock out of rocks for a 7-4 win.
Zheng-Pietrangelo’s record is 1-1 after the opening day of play, while Martin-Laycock are 0-2.
In other afternoon action, it wasn’t nearly as dramatic for Tran-Kleiter against Jennifer Jones and Brett Laing. Tran-Kleiter scored three in the first end with the hammer, stole one in the second end, and scored three in the third end, and coasted to a 9-6 victory, improving their opening-day mark to 2-0.
In the meantime, Muyres-Walker faced Edmonton’s Paige Papley and Evan Van Amsterdam in their second game of the day. Muyres-Walker would earn the last rock advantage in the opening end and use it to score a deuce. They would add to their lead by stealing one in the second and third end. Papley-Van Amsterdam would rebound in the fourth end, scoring a single win the hammer to cut the Muyres-Walker lead to 4-1 at the break. In five, Papley-Van Amsterdam would further cut into the lead, stealing one to make the score 4-2. With momentum on their side, Papley-Van Amsterdam would steal one in five and force Muyres-Walker to take on with their hammer in the sixth. Papley-Van Amsterdam would draw within one in the seventh end, scoring a deuce of their own, but Muyres-Walker would score a pair in the final end for the 7-4 victory.
Muyres-Walker are now 2-0 after the opening day of competition, while Papley-Van Amsterdam are 0-2.
Action resumes Tuesday morning in Nova Scotia as the round-robin continues with four draws on the schedule.
