Canada finishes out of the medals at World Mixed Doubles

Canada will finish out of the medals at the 2014 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship at the Ice Bowl in Dumfries, Scotland, after losing a close qualification game to Austria on Tuesday morning. The husband-and-wife team of Wayne and Kim Tuck of Ilderton, Ont., backed by coach Jim Waite, made it to the qualification round by winning six straight games in the preliminary competition. In their final round robin game, the Canadians stole four ends on their way to a 7-3 victory over Finland’s Eszter Juhasz and Markku Uusipaavalniemi.
Kim Tuck (Photo WCF/Richard Gray)

Kim Tuck (Photo WCF/Richard Gray)

In the qualification round against Austria’s Claudia Fischer and Christian Roth (5-3), the Canadian duo had their hands full early. A steal in the first end seemed to give Canada the edge, but Austria came back quickly and the score was tied 3-3 at the break. In the fifth, a long raise attempt by Kim Tuck missed the mark, giving the Austrians a steal of one, but Canada fought back. In the sixth, three perfect draws by Wayne put the pressure on Fischer and Roth, the 2012 World Mixed Doubles bronze medallists. With Austrian stones cluttering up the four-foot, Kim threw a perfect double takeout to leave Canada lying three and take a 6-4 lead into the seventh end. Tied 6-6 with hammer in the eighth end, Kim’s final takeout rolled too far, giving the Austrians a steal of one for a 7-6 victory, and ending Canada’s medal hopes. Only one Canadian team (Sean Grassie and Allison Nimik) has reached the podium at the World Mixed Doubles as they won bronze in 2009 at Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Since the World Mixed Doubles Championship made its debut in 2008 in Vierumäki, Finland, Swiss teams have won four of the six gold medals. Last year in Fredericton, Hungary made history with its first international curling victory when the duo of Zsolt Kiss and Dorottya Palancsa beat Sweden in the final. In 2013, the Canadian entry of Robert Desjardins and Isabelle Néron finished 10th with a 4-4 record.
Wayne Tuck (Photo WCF/Richard Gray)

Wayne Tuck (Photo WCF/Richard Gray)

Results, statistics, live video streams, news and photos from the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship 2014 can be seen here on the World Curling Federation’s official event website: https://wmdcc2014.curlingevents.com Curling fans around the world will also be able to see a number of live games and selected highlights from the 2014 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship via the World Curling Federation’s YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/WorldCurlingTV The full webcast schedule can be found here: https://wmdcc2014.curlingevents.com/schedule At the same time as staging the World Mixed Doubles Championship, the Dumfries Ice Bowl will also act as host to the Men’s and Women’s World Senior Curling Championships. More information about that event can be found here: https://wscc2014.curlingevents.com