Americans Vicky Persinger and Chris Plys clinched a place in the Olympic mixed doubles curling tournament at a last-chance qualifier in the Netherlands this week.
Persinger, going to her first Olympics, and Plys, a 2010 Olympian who already qualified with the men’s team, won all seven of their games as the top-ranked team in the field, capped by a winner-to-Beijing game against Russia on Thursday.
Mixed doubles debuted at the Olympics in 2018. The field increased from eight teams to 10 for 2022.
The top seven teams from the world championship in May qualified, as did host China. The U.S. was eighth at worlds, so it had to go to the last-chance qualifier for a shot at one of the final two spots.
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In 2018, siblings Becca Hamilton and Matt Hamilton represented the U.S. in Olympic mixed doubles and went 2-5, placing seventh. In 2019, Cory Christensen and John Shuster took bronze at the world championship.
Plys, who plays on Shuster’s men’s team, and Persinger have never competed in mixed doubles at a worlds.
Plys, like the Hamiltons in 2018, will be one of the busiest athletes at the Olympics, competing in both the mixed doubles and team tournaments.
Mixed doubles games mark the start of competition at the Beijing Games, beginning the Wednesday before the Opening Ceremony. The medal games are the following Tuesday. The men’s and women’s tournaments start after that.
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