OLYMPICS: Curling-Estonia's mixed doubles pair hungry for more after landmark win

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy – Estonia’s Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill made history on Thursday by securing their country’s first-ever Olympic curling victory at the Milano Cortina Games, but the pioneering duo are already aiming for more.

The pair, who are the first curlers to represent Estonia at the Winter Olympics, had lost their opening two matches in the mixed doubles competition before defeating Sweden’s Isabella and Rasmus Wrana 7-5. The match was a rematch of the 2024 mixed doubles World Championship final, where the Swedes had emerged victorious.

“I think our message to people in Estonia is that we want to win more games. It’s nice to win, of course, but we’re really proud of the team effort,” said Lill, 34. “It’s not easy to lose the first two games and then face the team you lost to in the World Championship final. Marie played well. We won… lots of good things. I think we managed to raise our quality for this game.”

Kaldvee, 31, added that the win could help boost the sport’s profile in Estonia. “Now they probably know more about it than before. We’ve been in the media over the past few years, so I think people know what curling is and that Estonians are doing it,” she said.

Lill also highlighted the challenges facing the sport at home. “Curling is growing in Estonia, but we only have one rink, which really limits us. Hopefully, there will be more places to curl in the future.”

Estonia, currently seventh in the round-robin standings, will next face Olympic champions Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner of Italy on Friday. -Reporting by Aadi NairEditing by Christian Radnedge/Reuters