Australia’s mixed team curlers Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt have put the devastation of missing the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics behind them in the most emphatic way possible, beating Sweden’s Therese Westman and Robin Ahlberg to claim world championship gold in Switzerland.
The Aussies missed out on qualifying for the Olympics by the narrowest possible margin in December by losing in the semifinals of the qualification tournament in Canada.
However, December’s heartbreak turned quickly into May delight after the pair recorded victory 8-4.
“It’s amazing … it feels really good,” Gill told World Curling.
“Oh gosh, I’m going to get emotional.
“It was really tough in December to just miss out on qualifying [for the Olympics].
“So we just came out here and had lots of fun. We just wanted to do our best, and we did, so we’re really happy and proud.”
The Australian pair faced a tough battle but were always on top. (Supplied: World Curling/Ansis Ventins)
After swapping singles over the first two ends, the game exploded in the third, when Gill picked out two Swedish stones to score three and take a 4-1 lead.
Westman’s pinpoint stone in a crowded house scored the Swedes two to reduce the deficit to 4-3 at the end of the fourth and the mid-session break.
“They took it to us, it was a tight game,” Hewitt said.
“The first few ends we were just playing a little bit conservative while we learned the ice a bit.
“Then we tried to play a few more tougher shots to secure the bonus points.”
Australia were in danger of losing points when they had the hammer immediately after the break, only for another superb stone from Gill stole a single, with the Swedish team failing to take advantage of a power play in the sixth, scoring just one point.
The Aussies made no such mistake on their powerplay though — they hadn’t given up a steal when calling the bonus all week — and scored three to secure a famous victory.
Dean Hewitt and Tahli Gill wave to the small Australian contingent in the crowd. (Supplied: World Curling/Ansis Ventins)
“We got a little bit of a break in our powerplay to get three rather than two, but basically, we’re just happy with staying with it every end the whole way through.”
It is Australia’s first ever world championship curling gold medal and comes just 12 months after the pair earned bronze in in Fredericton, Canada — an astonishing feat given Australia has no dedicated curling facility.
“Let that sink in,” World Curling commentator Sander Rølvåg said.
“A nation without a dedicated curling club has just climbed to the very top of the world.
“It’s not just a victory, it’s a statement about what’s possible if you really want it.”
“Thank you to everyone back home,” said Hewitt, who was also named MVP of the tournament following the semifinals.
“We couldn’t have done it without you.”
Why were Australia not at the 2026 Winter Olympics?
Heading into the 2026 Winter Olympics, Gill and Hewitt had risen to become the number one-ranked pair in the world.
That included a run whereby the pair won a bronze medal at the 2025 World Championships, Australia’s first global curling medal.
However, thanks to a disappointing 15th-place finish at the 2024 world titles, the Aussies did not have the necessary points to qualify automatically for the Olympics over the qualification period: they were ranked eighth with only the top seven, plus hosts Italy, guaranteed an Olympic spot.
The remaining two spots in the 10-team Olympic campaign were decided at a last-ditch qualification tournament in Kelowna, Canada where the Aussies came unstuck.
Despite wondering what might have been — Sweden won gold at the Olympic Games in Cortina, albeit with a different pairing of Isabella and Rasmus Wranå — the pair did not let the disappointment dominate them.
After the initial heartbreak of missing the Games wore off, Gill and Hewitt immediately turned their attention towards bouncing back at the World Championships, making vows at dinner the night of their defeat to come back stronger than ever.
Now, they are on top of the world.