The Pants are on the path to PyeongChang.
Norway’s curling federation named Thomas Ulsrud‘s rink -- known for its flashy pants at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Games -- as its Olympic curling team.
That’s provided Ulsrud and Co. finish in the top four at the European Championships in November.
That shouldn’t be a problem. Ulsrud earned medals at the last 10 European Championships, including making the final eight times.
If Ulsrud’s rink finishes between fifth and seventh place at Europeans, it will have a playoff with the other top Norwegian team for its Olympic spot.
The Olympic announcement was a relief for Ulsrud. The other top Norwegian team -- skipped by Steffen Walstad, who is 17 years younger than Ulsrud -- played well of late and is immediately behind Ulsrud in worldcurl.com’s standings.
“It must have been a really tuff [sic] choice for our federation as we now for the first time in about 10 years have 2 top teams in Norway,” was posted on Team Ulsrud’s Facebook page.
Earlier this month, Walstad’s rink became the first Norwegian team to make the final of a Grand Slam (one of seven major annual tournaments played in Canada).
What’s more, Walstad beat Ulsrud at last season’s Norwegian Championships, earning the nation’s berth at the world championship.
Walstad struggled at worlds, going 5-6, which marked Norway’s worst record at an Olympics or worlds since 2007. Ulsrud had won world gold in 2014 and silver in 2015.
At the Olympics, Ulsrud was fifth in Sochi and earned silver in Vancouver, where The Pants first gained fame.
From NBC Olympic Research:
Ulsrud turns 46 next month. In PyeongChang, he will be older than any previous Olympic medal-winning skip.
The Olympic favorite is whichever team emerges from Canada’s Trials or Sweden’s Niklas Edin‘s rink. Three different men skipped Canada to gold at the last three Olympics. Two different men skipped Canada to the last two world titles.
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