Australian curlers Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt are set to claim the world number one mixed-doubles ranking, yet their path to a second Winter Olympics remains uncertain.
The pair made history in May by winning bronze at the world championships in Canada, Australia’s first medal at that level. Since then, they have enjoyed a remarkable run of form, winning back-to-back tournaments in Bern and Gstaad, where they lifted the event’s iconic goat-shaped trophy.
Their success will see them overtake Estonia at the top of the world rankings next week. However, Queenslander Gill and Victorian Hewitt narrowly missed direct qualification for the Milan-Cortina Games in February, falling short by just a single point.
A disappointing 15th-place finish at the 2024 world championships, combined with this year’s third-place result, left them eighth overall. Only the top seven teams, plus host nation Italy, secured automatic Olympic berths. With 27 points, the Australians finished just one point behind Team USA.
“We were eighth, so one spot away, one point away,” said 30-year-old Hewitt. “One more win would have got us through, or if another team had lost. Third at the world championships you’d think would be enough, but it just wasn’t quite enough in this case yet.”
Despite the setback, their rise to the top of the rankings highlights their consistency and resilience, keeping alive hopes of securing a place in Milan through the remaining qualification pathways.
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