Shuster rink qualifies U.S. for 2022 Olympics

Shuster, the 2018 Olympic gold medalist from Duluth, skipped the U.S. team to a 10-3 record as the round robin of the world championships concluded Friday.

April 10, 2021 at 5:44AM
United States skip John Shuster, center, makes a shot as second Matt Hamilton, right, and lead John Landsteiner sweep against Denmark at the men's World Curling Championships Thursday, April 8, 2021 in Calgary
(Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

The U.S. locked up a spot in men's curling at the 2022 Beijing Olympics on Thursday, when Team John Shuster earned a playoff berth at the world men's curling championships in Calgary.

Shuster, the 2018 Olympic gold medalist from Duluth, skipped the U.S. team to a 10-3 record as the round robin of the world championships concluded Friday. That put it in third place, with the top six teams moving on to the playoffs and qualifying for the Olympics.

The U.S. will start the playoffs Saturday morning against Switzerland.

Though Shuster and his teammates — Chris Plys and John Landsteiner of Duluth and Matt Hamilton of McFarland, Wis. — are representing the U.S. at the world championships, they are not guaranteed a return trip to the Olympics.

The winner of the Olympic curling trials Nov. 13-21 in Omaha will go to Beijing.

about the writer

about the writer

Rachel Blount

Reporter/Columnist

Rachel Blount is a sports reporter for the Minnesota Star Tribune who covers a variety of topics, including the Olympics, Wild, college sports and horse racing. She has written extensively about Minnesota's Olympic athletes and has covered pro and college hockey since joining the staff in 1990.

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