Teammates for life, Canadian curling couple Peterman & Gallant have sights set on Olympic qualification
For almost a decade, Jocelyn Peterman and Brett Gallant have been partners on and off the curling ice.
At the end of April, they’ll head to the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Fredericton, New Brunswick where, in addition to medals, there is another big prize on the line: Olympic qualification.
After their triumph at the Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials in early January, where they were undefeated throughout, Peterman and Gallant are not just looking to secure Canada’s spot in the upcoming Olympic mixed doubles tournament; they would be booking their own tickets to Milano Cortina 2026.
“How many sports do you get to compete with your spouse at the Olympic level? It’s a pretty special opportunity and we really appreciate and love that aspect,” Peterman noted when asked what they enjoy about playing mixed doubles.
“It’s a fast-paced game. There’s lots of rocks in play, there’s lots of angles and you have to think maybe a little creatively during the ends to try to score your points,” Gallant had responded first. “You can never take an end off and you have to be fully committed every shot….It’s an exciting discipline to play.”
While the traditional four-person game continues to be extremely popular in Canada, mixed doubles curling has experienced a surge since it became an Olympic event at PyeongChang 2018. For the last two Olympic cycles, Canada’s mixed doubles team was only determined after the men’s and women’s curling teams. But with the aim of ensuring that Canada would have its most competitive teams at the Olympics, the selection order was switched up for Milano Cortina 2026.
It is now possible that the athletes nominated as the mixed doubles team can also qualify with their four-person teams when the Canadian Curling Trials are held in November 2025. That meant that the best of the best were in the field at the mixed doubles trials.
“The mixed doubles depth in Canada is pretty strong, there’s a lot of great teams, so to get through that first hurdle just feels awesome,” said Gallant. “Now we get to prepare for the world championships and just focus on trying to earn Canada a spot in the Olympic Games.”
At the time of our interview a couple of weeks after the trials, Peterman and Gallant were still digesting what they had achieved because they had almost immediately jumped right back into competing with their respective four-person teams. But they did recognize their recipe for success.
“We were really determined. We had the ultimate goal at the end of the week. We knew there was going to be some ups and downs. I think we just worked really hard together to figure out the ice and figure out our throws and stay really focused when we had some really tight games,” Peterman said of their build towards a dominant performance in the final.
For curlers who compete in both disciplines, like Peterman and Gallant, their seasons can be incredibly busy. Throughout the fall and early winter there is the multi-event Grand Slam of Curling and other assorted bonspiels. In February and March, all eyes are on the national championships—the Tournament of Hearts for women and the Brier for men—the winners of which will get to be Team Canada at the respective World Curling Championships in the spring, where the goal is to qualify the country’s Olympic spots in men’s and women’s curling.
Amidst all that, Peterman and Gallant usually compete in three to four mixed doubles events a season. They typically set aside one day a week to specifically practice for mixed doubles.
“It’s nice to carve out some time to compete together. The mixed doubles discipline is a refreshing kind of alternative to the four-person game and we enjoy it,” said Gallant.
While the general mechanics and technical skills required in both disciplines are very much the same, success in mixed doubles relies on players being able to “wear a few different hats”.
As part of their strategy, Peterman throws the first and last rock of each end. Equating that to a four-person team, she’s essentially responsible for throwing one lead rock and one skip rock.
“So she’s really taking on two different ends of the spectrum there, setting up the end and also trying to finish it off,” Gallant explained. “And then I’m taking on most of the sweeping and the communication has to be spot on between the two of us because we’re the only two out there.”
They count themselves lucky to have an array of experiences, from playing back end positions (third and skip) when they were younger to now playing front end positions (Peterman is the second on Team Kaitlyn Lawes, Gallant is the second on Team Brad Jacobs) which makes them comfortable with a variety of roles.
They also have one of the most coveted experiences in Canadian curling: Olympic experience.
Both competed at Beijing 2022 with their four-person teams at the time—Peterman on the women’s team skipped by Jennifer Jones, Gallant on the men’s bronze medal-winning team skipped by Brad Gushue.
But while they’ve been to the Olympics at the same time, now they’re chasing the unique opportunity to go as teammates.
“There’s some pressure every four years: is this going to be maybe my last opportunity? Will I get to achieve that goal of getting to the Olympic Games? And so having accomplished that one, I think it takes a little bit of the pressure off of us. However, getting a taste of what the Olympic Games are all about, it makes it all that more special and makes it so much more meaningful for us to try to get there and to do it again,” said Gallant. “We just really want to put our all into the next few months to earn that spot and then we have almost a year to prepare for the Games.”
Peterman and Gallant first competed together at the 2016 Canadian Mixed Doubles Championship. They have since represented Canada at two mixed doubles world championships, winning silver in 2019 and finishing fifth in 2022.
In that time, they have learned how to mesh together their personal and professional lives.
“We know what works well for each other, how to support each other, you know what not to say. That aspect is very positive,” said Peterman. “If there’s everything going on and we’re upset about a game, we’ve always done a pretty good job of flipping the switch as soon as we shake hands. We’re back to just being a couple or debriefing the game and then moving on.”
After getting married in June 2022, they welcomed their son Luke the following May. Peterman says he helps them with making the switch from playing partners to life partners.
“We’re really determined and really focused on the ice and then off the ice we have that perspective that we’re just mom and dad,” she added about their number one fan.
“He loves coming to the curling events. He’s pretty into it now. He loves cheering for us and when he’s at home, he loves watching on TV and just hanging out with his grandma,” Peterman said, making sure to acknowledge the support they’ve received from their parents which allows her and Gallant to compete at the high level they do.
As for whether Luke would get to attend his first Olympics?
“This sport is what brought us together and why we’re a couple. So it would be really special to have him there,” Peterman said.
Speaking of special, they both acknowledge each other as exceptionally well-rounded players when asked about their strengths.
“He’s probably one of the absolute best in the game at reading the ice in terms of sheet shape and broom placement but also speeds of the paths. I think he’s one of the absolute best in the world at that. And I think that’s a huge factor in why we excel at mixed doubles,” said Peterman, who also noted that Gallant’s sweeping is “at the top of the game”.
Gallant says Peterman “doesn’t really have a weakness”.
“She’s comfortable in any position, any role, but she also just thrives under pressure. I think she gets better as the moment gets bigger, with making the clutch shots, the last rocks, or even just starting the end off with a perfect shot. She seems to always rise to the occasion and takes a lot of pressure off me when I know that she’s going to perform in those big moments.”
Before their big moment at the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship, which takes place April 26-May 3, Peterman and Gallant will first compete at the four-player national championships.
The Scotties Tournament of Hearts is taking place February 14-23 in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Peterman and Team Lawes were one of the three teams that pre-qualified based on their national ranking. Team Rachel Homan are the defending champions.
The Montana’s Brier will then run from February 28-March 9 in Kelowna, British Columbia, for which Gallant and Team Jacobs were also pre-qualified. Team Gushue enters as the reigning champions.
