Vicky Persinger, who practically grew up at the Fairbanks Curling Club, qualified compete in mixed doubles at the Winter Olympics in February.
Vicky Persinger releases a stone while practicing at the Fairbanks Curling Club in January 2022. Persinger qualified to compete for Team USA at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.
“It’s going to be tough and it’s going to be a grind,” she said of herself and her mixed doubles partner, Chris Plys of Minnesota. “But I definitely feel like we’re capable of getting a medal.”Vicky Persinger of Fairbanks qualified to compete in mixed doubles curling at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. She has curled at the Fairbanks Curling Club since she was a child.
Curling, a sport with congeniality and etiquette written into its rules, prides itself on its family-friendly environment. A sign posted in the club’s lower level reminds players to “offer a hearty handclasp of friendship” and “play to win, but not to humble your opponent.” Vicky Persinger looks at the names on the trophy for the Fairbanks Curling Club's International Bonspiel, and other memorabilia.
“When I was coming up, I was one of three, maybe four girls in the whole city that curled,” said Schultz, who now works as director of athlete services for USA Curling. “I think that’s the difference between us is that I did give in to . That’s how I ended up in Minnesota. I give her kudos for being able to make it work.”
They were talented and prepared, Persinger said, and reached the last game in a best-of-three finals after the first two had gone into extra ends. But she was left stunned when her team lost the deciding game by a point.Working through the pain helped her gain a perspective that has since served her in curling and in life, she said.
Plys, 34, said in Persinger he found a high-caliber partner who is easygoing off the ice. And he admits he has tested her patience with the occasional practical joke. The two have forged a collaborative approach, a style not common to all mixed doubles teams. To watch them play is to see two people seeking consensus time and again.
“Look at those numbers for Vicky Persinger. Playing terrific with two ends to go,” the broadcaster said just as Persinger released the handle on her team’s first rock of the seventh end. But the shot was light, leaving her team an unwanted obstacle in front of the house, the target where points are scored.
“I somehow was able to zone out the entire seventh end and dial in exactly how I wanted to make that shot, and I made it perfect,” she said. “Four years ago, I don’t even know if I would’ve been able to do that.”