Olympic mixed doubles curling pair win 10th Estonian title

Mixed doubles curling duo Marie Kaldvee and Harri Lill claimed their tenth national title on Sunday.
A total of seven pairs had entered the mixed doubles curling championships, which took place at the Tondiraba Ice Hall in Tallinn.
As recent Olympic participants, fourth placers in last year's world championships and silver medal winners the year before, Kaldvee and Lill were the undoubted favorites heading into the competition, but nonetheless Kaldvee called the 10th national title a significant achievement. "The final was very evenly matched this time, and [runners-up] Hettel and Aleksander played very well, putting us under pressure in several ends. Hettel is young but a very capable curler, and she plays very well technically. I'm glad to see upcoming players showing such strong potential for the future," Kaldvee noted.
Liisa Turmann, secretary general of the Estonian Curling Association, also commended the level of the juniors at this year's championships. "It is encouraging to see that alongside experienced players, new young athletes are also taking part in the competition. This shows that the next generation is active, motivated, and ready to gain their first competitive experience. Although the young players sometimes lacked experience and composure when competing in the adult class, this is a good foundation to build on and develop as curlers."
The two youngsters who reached the final were Hettel Weddro and Aleksander Andre. Weddro is a young curler who is also part of the national development team.
On the day, experience won out over youth however, and Kaldvee and Lill took a 6:2 victory.
Last year's runners-up Triin Madisson and Karl Kukner had lost in the semi-finals to Weddro and Andre in a closely contested match, finishing with a score of 8:6. Madisson and Kukner took bronze.
Kaldvee and Lill beat Sweden and Canada in the round robin in last month's Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, but lost their other six matches and placed 10th overall.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Kristjan Kallaste








