CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — The desperation played on the faces of Canadian curling couple Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman on Saturday as they watched Great Britain's Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds send red stones pummeling into their carefully set yellows. It grew when they lost 8-6 to Estonia, a team competing at the Olympics for the first time, later in the day.
Canada’s losses Saturday in mixed doubles curling came after their defeat Friday at the hands of the U.S. team.
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Britain's Bruce Mouat celebrates after winning the mixed doubles round robin phase of the curling competition against Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Canada's Brett Gallant in action during the mixed doubles round robin phase of the curling competition against Britain at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Canada's Jocelyn Peterman shakes hands with Britain's Bruce Mouat during the mixed doubles round robin phase of the curling competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Canada's Brett Gallant in action during the mixed doubles round robin phase of the curling competition against Britain at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
If the matchups marked faceoffs between the historic dominance of Canada, and the growing rigor of other nations’ training programs in the sport, the results Saturday cemented just how much the field has changed through the last few Olympiads.
“We're in the thick of it, obviously we would have liked one more win today — or a win,” said Brett Gallant. “But we're still in control. We got to come in on the right foot tomorrow. We're still in the mix.”
There is immense pressure on Canadian curlers at these games, as the competition stiffens and a particularly knowledgeable fanbase back home closely watches. These games comes after the powerhouse won only 1 bronze medal across all curling disciplines in the Beijing Olympics in 2022.
“It’s an exact representation of where curling is at,” Devin Heroux, an Olympics reporter for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation who has spent years watching the Canadian duo curl, said after the match. “For a long time in Canada, there was this feeling that the country produced the best rock hurlers in the world. Now they are realizing that the world has not just caught up with them, it has surpassed them.”
The current and former presidents of Estonia, Alar Karis and Kersti Kaljulaid, were there to watch proudly as the debut Estonian Olympic curling team took down the mighty Canadians.
It’s not the first time the Estonians have taken down the Canadians. After the match, Estonian curler Marie Kaldvee described beating Canada as “kinda our thing.”
“We have one curling club and three sheets of ice and Canada probably has, times ten thousands at least,” she added, smiling.
There are 10 teams in total playing mixed doubles at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, and the field mainly remains scrambled. In another shakeup, the U.S. team of Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin - currently tied for second place with Italy — lost 6-5 to Korea, which is currently tied with Czechia in last.
Great Britain, currently in first, is the only team to have a secure spot in the playoffs.
Great Britain's Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds are best friends who have honed their craft through years spent curling side by side at Scotland’s National Curling Academy, founded in 2017. They're one team out of several that has emerged in recent Olympiads as formidable opponents to the Canadians.
“I think we’re in a really good spot. We’re communicating very well and we now know what the ice is gonna do for the rest of the event,” said Mouat after the morning victory against Canada.
Mouat was one of several athletes to say the ice conditions were “quicker” than usual and had massively changed from the day before, forcing them to adjust their game.
Canada was less positive about the changes. Gallant compared it to “taking a Honda civic for a drive down the highway and then jumping in a Ferrari.”
“It’s not an excuse,” he added. “The team that adjusts to the changes better will get the advantage, so that’s on us. They adjusted quicker than we did.”
So far at Cortina, the ice changes have shown to be so significant that “being able to embrace and adapt to the changing conditions will be what allows one of these teams to win gold,” said Heroux.
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Britain's Bruce Mouat celebrates after winning the mixed doubles round robin phase of the curling competition against Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Canada's Brett Gallant in action during the mixed doubles round robin phase of the curling competition against Britain at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Canada's Jocelyn Peterman shakes hands with Britain's Bruce Mouat during the mixed doubles round robin phase of the curling competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
Canada's Brett Gallant in action during the mixed doubles round robin phase of the curling competition against Britain at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
BANGKOK (AP) — Voters in Thailand went to the polls Sunday in an early general election seen as a three-way race among competing visions of progressive, populist and old-fashioned patronage politics.
The battle for support from 53 million registered voters comes against a backdrop of slow economic growth and heightened nationalist sentiment. While more than 50 parties are contesting the polls, only three — the People’s Party, Bhumjaithai, and Pheu Thai — have the nationwide organization and popularity to gain a winning mandate.
A simple majority of the 500 elected lawmakers selects the next prime minister.
Local polls consistently project that no single party will gain a majority, necessitating the formation of a coalition government.
Although the progressive People’s Party is seen as favored to win a plurality, its reformist politics aren't shared by its leading rivals, which may freeze it out by joining forces to form a government.
The People’s Party, led by Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, is the successor to the Move Forward Party, which won the most seats in the House of Representatives in 2023, but was blocked from forming a government by conservative lawmakers and then forced to dissolve.
"I think we will get the mandate from the people, and we promised the people that we will form the people’s government to bring policies that benefit all, not a few in the country,” Natthaphong told reporters after casting his ballot in Bangkok soon after the polls opened at 8 a.m.
His party's platform continues to promise sweeping reforms of the military, police and judiciary, appealing to youth and urban voters. Legal constraints have led it to set aside demands for reform of a law that metes out harsh penalties for criticism of the monarchy, while putting new emphasis on economic issues.
Softening its politics risks weakening its core support, already at risk because the last election had positioned it squarely as the alternative to nine previous years of military-led government, a situation it can't fruitfully exploit this time.
At the same time, its positions critical of the military can be a political liability with the surge of patriotism that emerged during last year’s border clashes with Cambodia, said Napon Jatusripitak, director of the Center for Politics and Geopolitics at Thailand Future, a Bangkok-based think tank.
The Bhumjaithai Party, headed by incumbent Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, is seen as the main defender and preferred choice of the royalist-military establishment.
Anutin has been prime minister only since last September, after serving in the Cabinet of his immediate predecessor, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was forced out of office for an ethics violation regarding mishandling relations with Cambodia. He dissolved parliament in December to call a new election after he was threatened with a no-confidence vote.
Subsequent border clashes with Cambodia allowed Anutin to recast himself as a wartime leader after his popularity initially slipped because of floods and financial scandals. His campaign focuses on national security and economic stimulus.
“We have done everything that we had to, but we cannot force the mind of the people. We can only present ourselves, and hope that the people will have faith in us,” Anutin said after casting ballots in northeastern Buriram province, his party's stronghold.
Bhumjaithai, seen as the likeliest party to form the next government, benefits from an electoral strategy employing old-style patronage politics and a machine skilled at grassroots organizing in the vote-rich northeast.
The Pheu Thai Party is the latest political vehicle for billionaire former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin-backed parties staged repeated electoral comebacks, only to be ousted by conservative-leaning courts and state watchdog agencies.
It softened its politics enough by the 2023 election to be returned to power after being judged by the previously hostile royalist-military establishment as an acceptable alternative to the more progressive Move Forward party.
The conservative court system rounded on it anyway — ousting two of its prime ministers over two years and ordering Thaksin imprisoned on old charges. The party now campaigns on economic revival and populist pledges like cash handouts, nominating Thaksin’s nephew, Yodchanan Wongsawat, as its lead candidate for prime minister.
"I’m excited, because I think today will be another busy day for the country’s democracy,” Yodchanan told reporters after voting.
Sunday’s voting includes a referendum asking voters whether Thailand should replace its 2017 military-drafted constitution.
The vote isn't on a proposed draft, but rather to decide whether to authorize parliament to begin a formal drafting process, which would require many further steps before coming to fruition.
Pro-democracy groups view a new charter as a critical step toward reducing the influence of unelected institutions such as the military and judiciary, while conservatives warn that it could cause instability.
CORRECTS DATE TO 8, NOT 7 - Police officers and volunteers seal a ballot box at voting station before starting of Thailand's general election in Bangkok, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
CORRECTS DATE TO 8, NOT 7 - Police officers prepare for the general election at a voting station in Bangkok, on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
CORRECTS DATE TO 8, NOT 7 - Police officers and election volunteers prepare for the general election at a voting station in Bangkok, on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
CORRECTS DATE TO 8, NOT 7 - A voter casts his ballot at a polling station during general election in Bangkok, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
CORRECTS DATE TO 8, NOT 7 - Voters look at candidates listed on a display board before entering a voting station for the general election in Bangkok, on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Police officers and volunteers prepare at a voting station for the general election in Bangkok, Sunday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Volunteers check equipment and prepare ballot boxes for Sunday's general election in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A volunteer checks ballots for Sunday's general election in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Police officers and Volunteers check ballots for Sunday's general election in Bangkok, Thailand, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
