One team member put the recent success down to a change in coach late last year.

After landing in Tallinn and still at the airport, Erika Tuvike (pictured), part of the four-woman team, told ERR reaching the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina is a realistic goal.

The team had undergone significant changes, and so should be satisfied with the result in Canada, she went on. "Bearing in mind that we made some major changes in December; we have a new captain, and I have been playing in the last position (as the 'hammer' in curling parlance – ed.)."

"We've actually had very little time to practice together," Tuvike added.

In addition to Tuvike, the team consists of captain, or skip, Liisa Turmann, plus Kerli Laidsalu and Heili Grossmann.

The foursome saw off New Zealand and Norway in final games, placing them 12th overall.

The team also performed strongly against curling powerhouses Scotland and South Korea, leading in both matches at one point, and narrowly missed out on victory against Denmark and Turkey as well.

"Instead of two victories, we could definitely have taken four, and that would be a completely different position," said Tuvike. "The games against Korea and Scotland; those opponents were also extremely tough," she added.

Canada won the World Championship in front of a home crowd, defeating Switzerland 7:5 in the final. South Korea earned bronze after beating Italy 6:3 in the third and fourth place playoff match.

Thanks to the qualification points it has amassed, the Estonian women's curling team has secured a spot in the 2025 Winter Olympics qualification tournament in December, where the last two Olympic spots will be played for.

The Winter Olympics is a realistic goal, Tuvike added. "It's not a pipe dream; hence why we're working hard and doing curling alongside our regular jobs. We definitely want to get there, but our only option is through the Olympic qualification. So that is what we're working towards," Tuvike said.

The team also took on a new coach, Tomi Rantamäki, last October.

On this, Tuvike said: "We've had different coaches over the last few years, but I would say that working with him has been completely different. The way we put the pedal to the metal was something else, while the level was completely different. Training volumes and quality significantly increased, so we can definitely achieve great things with him."

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