Olympics-Curling-Compartmentalising the key for curlers pulling double duty at Games

By Aadi Nair

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy, Feb 9 (Reuters) - As the mixed doubles at the Milano Cortina Olympics enter the home stretch, some curlers have to quickly switch gears as they go from competing as a pair to playing in a team of four.

The mixed doubles semi-finals take place on Monday and medal matches are scheduled for Tuesday, with the men's competition beginning on Wednesday and the women following on Thursday.

American Cory Thiesse, who with partner Korey Dropkin has reached the mixed doubles playoffs, will have less than a day to readjust before joining skip Tabitha Peterson's U.S. women's team.

"I've been playing mixed doubles and women's, both disciplines, for quite a while now. This year has been a little bit more focused on the mixed doubles than we normally would," Thiesse told reporters last week.

"For a lot of years, it's been putting our women's schedule together and then fitting mixed doubles in where we can. For me, it's just a little bit of compartmentalising and refocusing before each event.

"My roles on those two teams are very different. For me, it's just focusing on each day at a time and not getting too far ahead of myself or thinking too much about how much curling I have ahead of me."

BENEFITS OF PLAYING AT SAME VENUE

Canada's Brett Gallant said it was a comfort to continue playing at the Cortina Olympic Curling Centre instead of moving to another venue for the men's competition.

"The beauty of this setup is that I get to play in the exact same venue back-to-back weeks," said the 35-year-old, who will look to make up for his round-robin elimination in the mixed doubles when he joins the Brad Jacobs-led men's team.

"Normally, you're playing one event, then you're travelling across the country to a different venue, a different event. I'm just looking forward to it, getting to curl for close to 20 days in a row.

"That's pretty exciting for a curling athlete who loves the sport. How cool is it to do that on one of the biggest sporting stages?"

Switzerland's Yannick Schwaller, who competes in doubles alongside wife Briar Schwaller-Huerlimann, said he would spend a day with his family before jumping into his role as the men's team skip - a job that frees him from the physical demands of sweeping.

"For today I will be with Briar and just close out the week, and then my teammates arrive later tonight," Schwaller said on Monday. "From tomorrow I will be in the men's team, and I will enjoy not sweeping that hard anymore!"