Canada’s path to the gold medal in women’s curling at the Beijing Olympics

The journey to the top of the Olympic podium – or any spot on the podium for that matter – will be a daunting one for the Canadian women’s curling team.

Canada still has the best curling depth in the world, but’s it’s no secret many other nations have caught up when it comes to best-on-best competition.

For the first time in Olympic history, Canada failed to reach the podium in both men’s and women’s four-person curling at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Jennifer Jones alongside third Kaitlyn Lawes, second Jill Officer and lead Dawn McEwen captured gold at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the last Canadian women’s team to accomplish the remarkable feat. And now three quarters of that championship rink are returning to the biggest stage in sport, this time with Jocelyn Peterman throwing second stones.

“I think we all feel like kids in a candy store, like it’s our first time going to the Olympics. It’s just so surreal to be going back,” Jones said in a recent media availability.

“I think experience is always an added benefit. It’s not necessary. I would say right now I feel like it’s the perfect world because some of us have been, so we have experience and it’s Jocelyn’s first time, so we get to see the Olympics through her eyes all over again which is super exciting. There’s really nothing better in the world than walking in and seeing the Olympics rings.”

In 2014 against a field which included Sweden’s Margaretha Sigfridsson, Switzerland’s Mirjam Ott and Scotland’s Eve Muirhead, Team Jones went a perfect 9-0 in the round robin before beating Sweden in the final, 6-3.

“I remember heading into Sochi and everybody was saying it was the best field that had ever been assembled in women’s curling,” explained