OESTERSUND, Sweden — As an opening weekend goes, it was as close to perfect as it could get for Canada’s Kadriana Lott and Colton Lott at the 2024 World Mixed Doubles Championship.

The husband-and-wife tandem from Gimli, Man., capped an unbeaten weekend Sunday evening at the Oestersund Arena with an 11-0 triumph over the pairing of Vanessa Tonoli and Wouter Goesgens of the Netherlands.

That, combined with an 8-3 victory over Zuzana Paulova and Tomas Paul of Czechia earlier Sunday, gave Canada a 3-0 record (tied with Isabella Wrana and Rasmus Wrana of Sweden), and just as importantly, a massive surge in confidence heading into the meat of the schedule this week. 

“I think that would help anyone’s confidence,” said Kadriana Lott. “I mean, we’ve got a couple good teams coming up, but we know that we play against the best of the best so we’re ready for it.”

Canada was in full command against the Dutch team, and once again, the Lotts’ shooting percentages reflected their dominance.

They were scored at a cumulative 93 per cent, compared to 68 for the Netherlands.

Kadriana Lott, in particular, has been spectacular. She showed that early against the Dutch, making a wide outturn draw on an unfamiliar path to grab a piece of the four-foot to score a game-opening deuce.

Canada continued to ramp up the pressure, stealing deuces in the second and third ends and three more in the fourth when the Dutch employed their power play. Single-point steals in the fifth and sixth ends prompted the concession from the Netherlands, which dropped to 1-2 with the loss.

Kadriana Lott finished the game scored at 98 per cent, complementing the 95 and 96 per cent games she racked up in Canada’s first two games — staggeringly high numbers in any form of curling, much less mixed doubles, which generally demands tougher shots in the late stages of each end.

“She’s been very consistent on her weights,” said Colton Lott. “For me as a sweeper, it makes it so easy to judge. Every time she’s throwing it, I just know right away that it’s very close. I might have to sweep it a little bit, but she’s just been on the ball with that. And her line-calling for my shots has been very good, too. All around, unbelievable.”

And it’s not like it came out of nowhere.

“Even from nationals, I found my draw weight there and I was good all week,” said Kadriana Lott. “I think here starting off these three games we’ve been bang on, I think, every time so, yeah, I’m feeling pretty comfortable.”

One factor in her brilliant shotmaking in the early stages of this World Championship, which follows 10 straight victories to win the Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship last month in Fredericton, N.B., and another six straight at the Dynasty Manitoba Mixed Doubles Championship in February, is a change in team approach that sees Colton now at his wife’s side on her shots, rather than holding the broom at the other end and then racing down the ice to sweep.

Ironically, it was a loss early at provincials — their only loss — to Colton’s brother Tanner and his partner Randine Baker that prompted the change.

“I think it’s just been a slow process of us getting comfortable with it and her getting comfortable with picking (target) spots,” said Colton Lott. “Now, as long as she sees where she has to throw it, she’s dialled in and I can come down and help sweep right from her release.”

With 19 straight wins, don’t count on anything changing soon in that approach.

In the earlier game, Canada got off to an ideal start, putting all sorts of pressure on Czechia that resulted in a steal of two.

The Lotts followed up by forcing the Czechs to a single in the second, and then Kadriana Lott make a delicate tap-raise to score a game-turning four in the third.

Canada has just one game on Monday, at 8 a.m. ET against South Korea’s Jiyoon Kim and Byeongjin Jeong (1-2).

World Curling’s live-streaming platform The Curling Channel will be the only way to watch games from the World Mixed Doubles Championship, with all sheets being shown.

For the latest scores, draw and list of teams, CLICK HERE.

The 2024 World Senior Men’s and Women’s Championships are also being played in Oestersund, with Canadian teams skipped by Susan Froud (Alliston, Ont.) and Paul Flemming (Halifax) looking to defend the gold medals won by Canadian teams in 2023. Canadian result stories from the 2024 World Seniors will be posted at www.curling.ca throughout the event.

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For further information:

Al Cameron
Director, Communication & Media Relations
Curling Canada
Tel: (403) 463-5500
acameron@curling.ca

Kyle Jahns
Manager, Communication and Media Relations
Curling Canada
Tel: 204-803-8221
kyle.jahns@curling.ca

Mariann Bardocz-Bencsik, Media Manager
Emily Dwyer, Content Manager
World Curling
media@worldcurling.org

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