Ten teams will be vying for one gold medal when the women’s curling competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics kicks off on Thursday.

Here’s a look at Team USA and all the other teams competing in Cortina this week...

The U.S. brings a mix of veterans and newcomers to the ice with a team led by three-time Olympian Tabitha Peterson. Peterson, a 36-year-old from Eagan, Minnesota, skipped the American squad that finished 6th at the 2022 Olympics.

Beside Peterson is her sister, Tara Peterson, who also competed at those 2022 Games — her first. The sisters are the only returnees from that year’s team.

Another familiar name for the U.S. is Cory Thiesse, who just this week won a silver medal in mixed doubles curling with partner Korey Dropkin. This is Thiesse’s first Olympics in both disciplines, but isn’t her first time at the Games. She was an alternate on the U.S. women’s team in 2018.

Also playing lead for Team USA will be Taylor Anderson-Heide, a 30-year-old from Broomall, Pennsylvania.

The foursome made this year’s Olympics by winning the U.S. Curling Trials then moving on to finish 2nd at December’s Olympic Qualifying Event, their first major events all together. But just because they clinched the final spot in the Games doesn’t mean they don’t have a chance. In 2022, both the gold medal- and silver medal-winning teams reached the Games through the qualifying event.

Great Britain

The team from Great Britain won gold at the 2022 Olympics, but this year’s group looks a bit different. Three of four members of Team GB are making their Olympic debuts. The only returnee from that championship team is Jennifer Dodds, who also competed this week in mixed doubles curling and finished 4th.

This year’s Great Britain team is named “Team Morrison” for fourth Rebecca Morrison. They’re skipped by Sophie Jackson.

Team Morrison finished 8th at the 2024 World Championships, and 6th at worlds last year.

Canada

Rachel Homan leads a Canadian team that comes to Cortina as the two-time defending world champions.

This is the third Olympics for Homan, while two of her three other teammates are making their Olympic debuts. Homan’s previous team finished 5th at the 2022 Games.

The Canadians are looking to get their country back to the podium; Canada hasn’t won a women’s curling medal since 2014.

Sweden

Meanwhile, the Swedish women’s curling team has won a medal in five straight Olympics, the last three of which have been earned by the same team that will compete in Cortina.

The team, skipped by Anna Hasselborg, won gold in 2018 and bronze in 2022.

More recently, Hasselborg’s team finished 5th at both the 2024 and 2025 World Championships, and was 4th at worlds in ’23 and ‘22.

Italy

All but one member of Team Italy will be making their Olympic debut in Cortina. But that one veteran brings quite the pedigree to the ice.

Italy’s team is skipped by Stefania Constantini, a two-time Olympic medalist in mixed doubles curling. Competing on the same ice on which she grew up training, Constantini took home the bronze medal in mixed doubles on Tuesday.

Under Constantini, Italy’s women’s team finished 10th at the 2025 World Championships, and 4th and 5th in ’24 and ’23. 

Switzerland

Both Switzerland’s skip, Silvana Tirinzoni, and vice skip Alina Patz, are playing in their third Olympics, and are coming off of a 4th-place finish in 2022.

The duo, with a few combinations of the other two players, won four world championships from 2019-2023. They’ve finished 2nd at worlds the last two years.

South Korea

South Korean skip Gim Eun-Ji is competing at her second Olympics, but it’s her first since 2014. She’s joined by a team of three players all making their Olympic debuts.

Gim’s team finished 4th at the world championships last year, and 3rd in 2024. 

Denmark

This year’s Denmark squad is the exact same one that finished 9th at the 2022 Olympics.

Lead Denise Dupont is playing in her fifth Olympics, a record for a women’s curler, and tied for the most appearances by any curler.

Denmark is skipped by Denise’s sister, Madeleine Dupont, who is competing in her fourth Games. 

The Duponts’ team finished 7th at the 2025 World Championships and 6th in ’24.

China

The Chinese team finished 3rd at last year’s world championships, and have experience beating the best teams in the world. They defeated Homan’s Canadian squad in the finals of the 2025 Pan Continental Curling Championships.

China’s only Olympic medal in curling came when the women took home bronze in 2010. The women’s team finished 7th at the 2022 Olympics.

China is skipped by Wang Rui, who is competing at her third Olympics. Two of Wang’s teammates are playing in their second Olympics. The 31-year-old is the only player on her team older than 26.

Japan

The other qualifier at December’s qualifying event, Japan’s team is skipped by Olympic debutant Sayaka Yoshimura.

Japan’s women’s teams took home silver at the 2022 Olympics, and bronze in 2018, but those were completely different teams than the one that will play in Cortina. The two players on the team who are competing at their second Olympics, Kaho Onodera and Anna Ohmiya, played in the 2014 and 2010 Games.

Yoshimura’s team finished 9th at the world championships last year.

The women's curling competition at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics will begin on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 3:05 a.m. ET. Four games will kick off the competition:

• Canada vs. Denmark
• Italy vs. Switzerland
• Japan vs. Sweden
• South Korea vs. Team USA