Curling, Italy women’s team is in the World Cup playoffs

Curling, results

Another taboo falls in this extraordinary season of blue ice. Italy’s women’s curling team has qualified for the World Cup playoffs, a feat never achieved in the entire tricolor history.

On the Swedish ice in Sandviken, the Italian team led by technical director Claudio Pescia and coach Violetta Caldart reached the second phase of the rainbow event at the end of a heart-stopping day that began with a 6-5 defeat at the extra end at the hands of Norway and ended with a convincing 7-3 victory over Sweden.

Fourth place in the standings for Italy, which will be back on track tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. against Sweden to clinch a spot in the semifinals where it awaits Norway. The historic milestone, meanwhile, has already been reached, however, and it is incredible.

Tenth in the last edition and never qualified for the second phase of the World Championships, the Italian women’s team made up of Stefania Constantini (Fiamme Oro), Marta Lo Deserto (Fiamme Gialle), Angela Romei (Fiamme Gialle) and Giulia Zardini Lacedelli (Curling Club Dolomiti) in fact shattered every record by closing the round robin phase with seven successes, a new national record.