Winter Olympics: Curling Cheating
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
It has been reported that the Canadian men’s and women’s curling teams have been accused of cheating at the Winter Olympics.
The Canadian curler, Marc Kennedy, was accused by Sweden of cheating, during a match on 13 February 2026, by "double-touching". That is, touching the stone a second time after initially releasing it down the ice. When accused, he used bad language.
This was followed by Rachel Holman, the Canadian women's captain, being accused of using the same move.
Both of them have denied these accusations, but the Canadian curling teams, who historically have dominated the sport, are facing questions about their tactics amongst their countrymen and fans, who have questioned whether the Canadian teams have acted in the spirit of curling.
Although Kennedy received a verbal warning from World Curling, the Governing Body of the sport, for using bad language, he was not formally charged with cheating.
On 15 February 2026, Great Britain's men's team was accused of the same violation.
Both Homan and Bobby Lammie, the British men's curler, had their stones removed from play due to these alleged violations.
All these incidents have resulted in World Curling clarifying that double-tapping is not allowed, stating that:
"During forward motion, touching the granite of the stone is not allowed. This will result in the stone being removed from play."
World Curling does not employ video to review play, but they have employed two officials to monitor how players release their stones.
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
