Wikipedia

Almida de Val

Almida Winquist de Val (born 12 September 1997) is a Swedish curler from Sundbyberg.[3] She currently plays third and is vice skip on Team Isabella Wranå, also known as Team Panthera. With this team, she won a gold medal at the 2017 World Junior Curling Championships. de Val has studied engineering at the Swedish Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, where she received her Master's degree in 2021.[4]

Almida de Val
Curler
de Val at the 2022 Players' Championship
Born (1997-09-12) 12 September 1997 (age 27)
Gothenburg, Sweden
Team
Curling clubSundbybergs CK,
Sundbyberg, SWE[1]
SkipIsabella Wranå
ThirdAlmida de Val
SecondMaria Larsson
LeadLinda Stenlund
AlternateJennie Wåhlin
Mixed doubles
partner		Daniel Magnusson
Curling career
Member Association Sweden
World Mixed Doubles Championship
appearances		1 (2021)
European Championship
appearances		1 (2023)
Olympic
appearances		1 (2022)
Grand Slam victories1 (2023 Players')
Medal record
Women's Curling
Representing  Sweden
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Beijing Mixed doubles
World Mixed Doubles Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Aberdeen
World Junior Curling Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Gangneung
Silver medal – second place 2018 Aberdeen
Winter Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2019 Krasnoyarsk
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Almaty
Swedish Women's Championship
Gold medal – first place 2018 Skellefteå
Gold medal – first place 2022 Härnösand
Silver medal – second place 2019 Jönköping
Silver medal – second place 2023 Karlstad
Silver medal – second place 2024 Jönköping
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Jönköping[2]
Swedish Mixed Doubles Championship
Gold medal – first place 2021 Jönköping

Career

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Juniors

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de Val played in the World Junior Curling Championships in 2014, 2017 and 2018 as a member of Team Isabella Wranå. In 2014, her team of Isabella Wranå, Jennie Wåhlin, Elin Lövstrand, and Fanny Sjöberg had a fourth-place finish after they lost in the bronze medal game to Russia. de Val was the alternate on the team but played no games. She was back at the event in 2017 as the official second of the team, replacing Lövstrand. The team made it all the way to the final and defeated Scotland's Sophie Jackson to win the gold medal, and lost just two round robin games in the process. The same team went undefeated the next year in the round robin but ended up losing to Canada's Kaitlyn Jones in the final. This team also represented Sweden at the 2017 Winter Universiade, where they took home the bronze medal and again in 2019, winning the gold medal. de Val represented Sweden one more time at the juniors in 2019 as the fourth for Tova Sundberg, who threw third stones. They placed sixth.[5]

Women

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As World Junior champions, the Wranå team qualified for the 2017 Humpty's Champions Cup, de Val's first Grand Slam event. The team did not qualify for the playoffs but did win one game. The team won their first World Curling Tour event at the 2018 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic.[6] A month later, they won the Paf Masters Tour.[7] Throughout the 2018–19 season, the team played in four slams, failing to qualify in any of the four. They won one game at the 2018 Tour Challenge, one game at the 2018 National, no games at the 2019 Canadian Open, and one game at the 2019 Champions Cup. Also during this season, the team won the 2019 Winter Universiade.[8]

Team Wranå had a successful 2019–20 season, winning two tour events (the Royal LePage Women's Fall Classic and the Paf Masters Tour once again) and finishing second at the Women's Masters Basel and the Glynhill Ladies International.[9][10][11] They played in two slam events, winning one game at both the 2019 Tour Challenge and the 2019 National.[12][13]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Team Wranå only played in one tour event during the abbreviated 2020–21 season. The team competed at the 2020 Women's Masters Basel, where they missed the playoffs with a 1–2 record.[14] In December, they played Team Hasselborg in the Sweden National Challenge, where they won by a score of 17–12.[15] The Swedish Women's Curling Championship was cancelled due to the pandemic, so Team Hasselborg was named as the Swedish Team for the 2021 World Women's Curling Championship.[16] After the season, longtime lead Fanny Sjöberg stepped back from competitive curling and Maria Larsson joined the team as their new lead.[17]

In their first event of the 2021–22 season, Team Wranå reached the final of the 2021 Euro Super Series where they lost to Rebecca Morrison.[18] They also reached the semifinals of the 2021 Women's Masters Basel before being eliminated by Denmark's Madeleine Dupont.[19] After missing the playoffs at the 2021 Masters, Team Wranå made the playoffs at a Grand Slam event for the first time at the 2021 National before being eliminated in the quarterfinals by Kelsey Rocque.[20] Elsewhere on tour, the team reached the semifinals of both the Red Deer Curling Classic and the International Bernese Ladies Cup. At the Swedish Eliteserien in February, the team defeated Tova Sundberg to claim the event title.[21] They also beat Sundberg in the final of the 2022 Swedish Women's Curling Championship in March.[22] Team Wranå wrapped up their season at the 2022 Players' Championship Grand Slam where they once again qualified for the playoffs. They lost to Tracy Fleury in the quarterfinal round.[23] After the season, Jennie Wåhlin stepped back from competitive curling and was replaced by Linda Stenlund. The revised lineup of the team saw Wranå and de Val continue at skip and third while Larsson moved up to second and Stenlund slotted in at lead.

Team Wranå finished third at their second event of the 2022–23 season, the 2022 Oslo Cup, defeating Marianne Rørvik 6–2. In September, the team competed in the European Qualifier best-of-seven series against Team Hasselborg, which they lost 4–1.[24] They then had a quarterfinal finish at the 2022 Women's Masters Basel after a previously unbeaten record. In the first Slam of the season, the 2022 National, they finished pool play with a 2–2 record, but then lost 7–2 in a tiebreaker to the newly formed Kaitlyn Lawes rink. At the 2022 Tour Challenge, they again went 2–2 to qualify for a tiebreaker, which they won 7–4 over Hollie Duncan. Team Wranå then beat the World Champion Silvana Tirinzoni rink in the quarters before losing to Team Rachel Homan in the semifinal, marking the first time the team qualified for a Slam semifinal.[25][26] They then lost in the final of the Sundbyberg Open to Team Hasselborg.[27] The next Slam was the 2022 Masters, where the team missed the playoffs with a 1–3 record.[28] The team began the New Year at the 2023 Canadian Open, where they qualified through the A side, defeating Team Hasselborg in the A final game. In the playoffs, they defeated Jennifer Jones in the quarterfinals before losing to Kerri Einarson in the semifinals.[29] Team Wranå's next event was the 2023 International Bernese Ladies Cup where they went undefeated until the final where they fell to Team Tirinzoni.[30] The following month, they played in the Swedish Women's Curling Championship, finishing second behind Hasselborg. That same month, the team faced off against Hasselborg again for a chance to play in the 2023 World Women's Curling Championship. The two teams played in a best-of-seven series, with Hasselborg winning in seven games.[31][32] In their next two events, they finished third at the Sun City Cup and won the Swedish Eliteserien. The team finished off their season at the 2023 Players' Championship. There, they finished 4–1 record in group play, earning a bye to the semifinals. In the playoffs, they defeated Einarson, and then Tirinzoni in the finals to claim the team's first ever Grand Slam title.[33]

After suffering defeats to Team Hasselborg in both of their first two tour events, Team Wranå turned things around at the European qualifier as they won the series 4–2, earning them the right to represent Sweden at the 2023 European Curling Championships.[34] In preparation for the Euros, the team played in the 2023 Players Open where they lost to Hasselborg in the final.[35] They also played in two Slams, the 2023 Tour Challenge and the 2023 National, reaching the quarterfinals of the latter.[36] In November, the team represented Sweden at the Europeans in Aberdeen. There, they finished third through the round robin with a 6–3 record, earning a spot in the playoffs. They then lost both the semifinal and bronze medal game to Italy and Norway respectively, finishing fourth.[37] Back on tour, they reached the semifinals of the 2023 Western Showdown and the quarterfinals of the 2023 Masters and the 2024 International Bernese Ladies Cup. Days before the 2024 Swedish Women's Championship, Team Hasselborg was appointed to represent Sweden at the 2024 World Women's Curling Championship as they had accumulated more points than Team Wranå in their best five events.[38] The team then lost the final of the Swedish Championship to Hasselborg. In February, Team Wranå won their sole event title of the season after an undefeated run at the Sun City Cup.[39] To end the season, the team tried to defend their title at the 2024 Players' Championship. After a 4–1 record through the round robin, they beat Korea's Gim Eun-ji in the semifinal before coming up short to Silvana Tirinzoni in a rematch of the 2023 final.[40]

Mixed doubles

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Aside from women's curling, de Val also plays mixed doubles, initially with partner Oskar Eriksson. The pair began playing together during the 2020–21 season and immediately found success by winning the 2020 Oberstdorf International Mixed Doubles Cup.[41] In 2021, they won the Swedish mixed doubles national championship, de Val's first gold medal at a national championship.[42] On 1 March 2021, the Swedish Curling Association formally announced the selection of Eriksson and de Val to represent Sweden at the 2021 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship.[43][44] At the World Championship, the team posted a perfect 9–0 record through the round robin, being the only team to do so.[45] This qualified them for the semifinals, where they faced Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten of Norway. Tied 6–6 in the final end, de Val missed her final draw, giving up a steal of one and the win to the Norwegians.[46] They ended the tournament by defeating Canada's Kerri Einarson and Brad Gushue 7–4 in the bronze medal game.[47]

On 4 June 2021, de Val and Eriksson were selected as the mixed doubles Olympic Team for the 2022 Winter Olympics.[48] In preparation for the Olympics, the pair played in two mixed doubles events, the Aly Jenkins Mixed Doubles Memorial and the Gothenburg Mixed Doubles Cup, reaching the final of the latter.[49] At the Games, de Val and Eriksson qualified for the playoffs with a 5–4 record.[50] They then faced the top-ranked Italian pair of Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner in the semifinal, which they lost. They did still earn a medal from the Games, however, as they were able to beat Great Britain's Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat 9–3 in the bronze medal game, a game where de Val shot a perfect 100%.[51] After the game, de Val said that "This was our last chance, our last game, so we had nothing more to lose — just go out there and play the best we can. We both know that it's a lot more fun going home with a medal than without, so that really motivated us to really fight for this game."[52]

Grand Slam record

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Key
C Champion
F Lost in Final
SF Lost in Semifinal
QF Lost in Quarterfinals
R16 Lost in the round of 16
Q Did not advance to playoffs
T2 Played in Tier 2 event
DNP Did not participate in event
N/A Not a Grand Slam event that season
Event 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Tour Challenge DNP DNP Q Q N/A N/A SF Q QF
Canadian Open DNP DNP Q DNP N/A N/A SF Q Q
The National DNP DNP Q Q N/A QF Q QF
Masters DNP DNP DNP DNP N/A Q Q QF
Players' DNP DNP DNP N/A DNP QF C F
Champions Cup Q DNP Q N/A DNP DNP DNP N/A N/A

Teams

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Season Skip Third Second Lead
2013–14[53] Greta Aurell Tilde Vermelin Camilla Schnabel Almida de Val
2014–15 Almida de Val (Fourth) Camilla Schnabel Tilde Vermelin Greta Aurell (Skip)
2015–16 Almida de Val (Fourth) Camilla Schnabel Tilde Vermelin Greta Aurell (Skip)
2016–17 Isabella Wranå Jennie Wåhlin Almida de Val Fanny Sjöberg
2017–18 Isabella Wranå Jennie Wåhlin Almida de Val Fanny Sjöberg
2018–19 Isabella Wranå Jennie Wåhlin Almida de Val Fanny Sjöberg
2019–20 Isabella Wranå Almida de Val Jennie Wåhlin Fanny Sjöberg
2020–21 Isabella Wranå Almida de Val Jennie Wåhlin Fanny Sjöberg
2021–22 Isabella Wranå Almida de Val Jennie Wåhlin Maria Larsson
2022–23 Isabella Wranå Almida de Val Maria Larsson Linda Stenlund
2023–24 Isabella Wranå Almida de Val Maria Larsson Linda Stenlund
2024–25 Isabella Wranå Almida de Val Maria Larsson Linda Stenlund

References

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  1. ^ "Team de Val/Eriksson". Facebook. Svensk Curling. 5 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Swedish Championships: Main".
  3. ^ "Team Wranå". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  4. ^ Gömd, SKRIBENT: Pontus Gyllensten E.-POST: Adressen. "Almida de Val har siktet på dubbla karriärer och OS". www.rfsisu.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  5. ^ "2019 World Junior Curling Championships". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  6. ^ "2018 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic". CurlingZone. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  7. ^ "2018 Paf Masters Tour". CurlingZone. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  8. ^ "2019 Winter Universiade". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  9. ^ "WCT Recap:Sweden's Team Isabella Wranå win second event of the season". TSN. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  10. ^ "2019 Royal LePage Women's Fall Classic". CurlingZone. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  11. ^ "2019 Paf Masters Tour". CurlingZone. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  12. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (8 November 2019). "Hasselborg, Koe qualify for KIOTI Tractor Tour Challenge Playoffs". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  13. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (12 December 2019). "Carey escapes with win over Tirinzoni at Boost National". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  14. ^ "Women's Masters 2020 – Team SWE Wranå". Rinkmaster. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  15. ^ "Winners of the Sweden National Challenge!". Facebook. Team Panthera. 13 December 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Vändningen: VM damer flyttas till Calgary, Kanada" (in Swedish). Svenska Curlingförbundet. 5 March 2021. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Fanny has been playing on the team since 2007. She has been our lead since the beginning of what we call "Team Panthera" or "Team Wranå"". Instagram. teamwrana. 26 February 2021. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  18. ^ "Home triumph for GB Red caps superb new event". British Curling. 5 September 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  19. ^ "2021 Women's Masters Basel". CurlingZone. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  20. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (6 November 2021). "Undefeated Fleury, Tirinzoni advance to GSOC Boost National semifinals". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  21. ^ "2021 Swedish Eliteserien". CurlingZone. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  22. ^ "2022 Swedish Women's Curling Championship". CurlingZone. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  23. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (16 April 2022). "Einarson fends off Fujisawa to advance to Players' Championship semifinals". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  24. ^ "2022 Swedish European Qualifier". CurlingZone. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  25. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (22 October 2022). "Wrana upsets top-seed Tirinzoni in HearingLife Tour Challenge quarterfinals". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  26. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (23 October 2022). "Oskar Eriksson skips Team Edin into HearingLife Tour Challenge men's final". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  27. ^ "Sundbyberg Open 2022". Nordic Curling Tour. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  28. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (9 December 2022). "Homan sweeps through pool play heading into WFG Masters quarterfinals". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  29. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (15 January 2023). "Einarson reaches sixth straight Grand Slam final at Co-op Canadian Open". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  30. ^ "54. Internationaler Berner Damen Cup 2023". Curling Bern. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  31. ^ "2023 Swedish World Qualifier". CurlingZone. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  32. ^ Video (full game): 2023 Swedish World Qualifier – Game 7 – Anna Hasselborg vs Isabella Wranå on YouTube
  33. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (16 April 2023). "Wrana wins Players' Championship for first Grand Slam women's title". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  34. ^ "Fourth time's the charm — Wranaa's first European appearance". World Curling Federation. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  35. ^ "Bottcher the new world No. 1 after defeating Koe in Dundas final". TSN. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  36. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (11 November 2023). "Homan eliminates Einarson in KIOTI National women's quarterfinals". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  37. ^ "Norway win women's bronze in Aberdeen". World Curling Federation. 24 November 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  38. ^ "Lag Edin och lag Hasselborg representerar Sverige vid curling-VM" (in Swedish). Svenska Curlingförbundet. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  39. ^ "2024 Sun City Cup". CurlingZone. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  40. ^ Jonathan Brazeau (14 April 2024). "Tirinzoni tops Wrana to take Princess Auto Players' Championship women's title". Grand Slam of Curling. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
  41. ^ "2020 Creating Oberstdorf International Mixed Doubles Cup". CurlingZone. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  42. ^ "Spelprogram och liveresultat". Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  43. ^ Bengt Sundler (2 March 2021). "Karlstadsspelare klar för dubbla VM – öppnar vägen till OS". Nya Wermlands Tidnigen. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  44. ^ "Curling: Almida de Val och Oskar Eriksson uttagna till VM mixed dubbel 2021". Svenska Curlingförbundet. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  45. ^ Céline Stucki (21 May 2021). "United States claim fourth place in Group B to progress to Olympic Qualification game". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  46. ^ Video (full game): 2021 World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship - Semifinal - Sweden (de Val / Eriksson) vs Norway (Skaslien / Nedregotten) on YouTube
  47. ^ Céline Stucki (23 May 2021). "Sweden win World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship 2021 bronze medals". World Curling Federation. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  48. ^ "SOK tar ut fler idrottare till vinter-OS" (in Swedish). SVT Sport. 4 June 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  49. ^ "2021 Gothenburg Mixed Doubles Cup". CurlingZone. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  50. ^ "Italy finish their round-robin campaign with a perfect record". World Curling Federation. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  51. ^ "Medals update: Sensational Sweden win bronze in Beijing 2022 curling mixed doubles beating GB 9-3". Olympics. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  52. ^ "Sweden claim Mixed Doubles bronze medals in Beijing". World Curling Federation. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  53. ^ "Almida de Val Past Teams". CurlingZone. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
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