Sandra Schmirler
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| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Competitor for  Canada |
|||
| Women’s Curling | |||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Gold | 1998 Nagano | Team | |
| World championships | |||
| Gold | 1993 Geneva | Team | |
| Gold | 1994 Oberstdorf | Team | |
| Gold | 1997 Berne | Team | |
Sandra Schmirler, SOM (June 11, 1963–March 2, 2000) was a Canadian curler, an Olympic and triple World Champion.
Born in Biggar, Saskatchewan, Schmirler learned curling at high school. Her first major successes in the sport came in 1991, when she won the provincial championships as the skip (captain) of her team.
Only two years later, in 1993, Schmirler's Regina-based team also won the Canadian Championships, and were sent out to the World Championships, which they won. At this time, her name was Sandra Peterson from her first marriage; while she remarried, she would revert to her maiden name. Her rink repeated those performances in 1994 and 1997. Her team members were Jan Betker, Marcia Gudereit, and Joan McCusker.
At the 1998 Winter Olympics, Schmirler sailed through the round-robin competition with relative ease, and in the semi-final faced the all-Scottish Great Britain rink, which was skipped by Kirsty Hay but also included a future world championship-winning skip for Scotland, Jackie Lockhart. The game surprisingly went to an extra end, and a major upset appeared to be on the cards when Schmirler shouted out "oh no!", fearing her last stone was too heavy. However, it slowed up in the nick of time, and Schmirler's team progressed to the final, where they faced the Danish rink skipped by Helena Blach Lavrsen, surprise conquerors of the formidable Swedish team. Schmirler spearheaded a deserved 7-5 victory, and secured the gold medal for Canada.
The year after her Olympic triumph, Schmirler was diagnosed with Esophageal cancer, of which she died on the morning of March 3, 2000 at age 36. Over 15,000 people attended her funeral, which was broadcast on national television.
In 2000, Schmirler was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. She was the first posthumous appointment. The team members had been previously awarded honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from the University of Regina.
From 1998-2000, Schmirler was Curling commentator for CBC. [1] [2]
