With four sessions left to play, the mixed doubles curling tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics is starting to see separation at the top of the standings.
The biggest surprise of the Games so far has been the play of Italy, the only unbeaten squad left. The Italian duo of Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner came into the Olympics after finishing fifth at the most recent World Championships, one of only three times Italy has finished in the top-10 at the event. The duo were 5-5 in games against other teams competing.
Italy benefitted from an early Olympic schedule that saw them face off against the four teams at the bottom of the standings in their first five games. Even with the light schedule, the Italians have outscored their opponents 44-36, and have only once played a 1-point game. Their four other wins have all come by margins of four points three times and an 8-point win over Czech Republic.
Tthey proved Saturday morning their play hasn't been a fluke with a 7-5 defeat of Great Britain, the defending world champions.
Italy will take on China at 1:05 a.m. ET Sunday, another low ranked team, but will finish round robin play with back-to-back games against Sweden and Canada, the teams currently ranked No. 2 and No. 4 in the standings.
As of Saturday, if round robin play were to end now, Italy, Sweden, Great Britain, and Canada would be the four teams moving on the semifinals.
Team USA went into Saturday morning in a tie with Canada for the fourth spot, but Canada's win over the U.S. in Session 9 help moved the duo of John Morris and Rachel Homan into a playoff spot.
The U.S., the duo of Vicky Persinger and Chris Plys, are currently tied with Norway for fifth place. They will play their final three games against the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Great Britain.
The top four teams in the standings will all advance to the semifinals, which are set to be played at 7:05 a.m. EST on Monday.
Here’s a look at the current mixed doubles standings.
1 - Italy (6-0)
2 - Sweden (5-2)
3 - Canada (4-2)
4 - Great Britain (4-2)
5 - Norway (3-3)
5 - United States (3-3)
7 - China (2-4)
7 - Czech Republic (2-4)
7 - Switzerland (2-4)
10 - Australia (0-7)
SEE MORE: Team USA falls to Canada, defeats China in mixed doubles curling
SEE MORE: Mixed doubles curling roundup: Italy stays unbeaten with win over Great Britain
