Curling

Curling is thought to have been invented in medieval Scotland in the 16th century. It was a demonstration sport at the Lake Placid 1932, Calgary 1988, and Albertville 1992 Olympic Winter Games. In 1924 in Chamonix, it also appeared on the Olympic Programme, and recent evidence has found that curling was a full medal sport that year, while previously it had been considered a demonstration sport. In addition, at Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 and Innsbruck 1964, German curling (Eisstockschießen) was contested as a demonstration sport.

Curling returned to the Olympic Winter Programme as a full medal sport at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games, in Nagano, and has been held at all Winter Olympics since. The sport is governed by World Curling, which was founded on 1 April 1966, in Vancouver, Canada, as the International Curling Federation (ICF). The name of the organization would be changed to the World Curling Federation (WCF) in 1990, and to its current name in late 2024. World Curling has 78 national member associations as of January 2026.

At the Olympics, curling has been dominated by Canada, with 14 medals and seven golds, immediately followed by Sweden, with 13 medals and six golds.

As of 2026, five male curlers (four of them from Canada) have won two Olympic gold medals, led by Rasmus Wranå (SWE) and Marc Kennedy (CAN), both of them adding one other medal to their two Olympic titles. Sweden’s Niklas Edin and Oskar Eriksson are the only two other male Olympian curlers with three medals, each with a full set.

On the other hand, nine women curlers have won two gold medals: Canada’s Kaitlyn Lawes and eight Olympians representing Sweden, led by Anna Hasselborg, Sofia Mabergs-Scharback, Sara McManus, and Agnes Knochenhauer, each adding a bronze two their two Olympic golds.