February 18, 2026
Eric Bolte/Imagn Images
Taylor Anderson-Heide, a Delaware County native on the U.S. women's curling team, is pictured above during a round-robin match at the Winter Olympics in Italy on Monday.
Delaware County native Taylor Anderson-Heide and the rest of the U.S. women's curling team are on the brink of reaching the semifinals at the Winter Olympics in Italy. A victory against Switzerland in its final round-robin match Thursday morning would give Team USA an opportunity to win its first medal in the women's bracket.
Anderson-Heide, 30, grew up in Broomall and attended Marple Newtown High School. She's a member of the Philadelphia Curling Club in Paoli, Chester County, and has been a part of three gold-winning teams at the U.S. Women's Curling Championship. Two of those medals — in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 2019 and Wausau, Wisconsin, in 2021 — were earned alongside her twin sister, Sarah.
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This year marks Taylor's first appearance at the Olympics, where she serves as Team USA's lead. The role is crucial in setting up the team's strategy to position stones in the house — the circular target at the end of the ice — where opponents jockey to rack up points by landing throws closest to the button at the center. Anderson-Heide delivers the first two stones in each end, and then serves as a sweeper for her three other teammates after they throw each of their two stones.
The starting team is rounded out by captain Tabitha Peterson, her sister Tara, and Cory Thiesse. The Peterson sisters made their Olympic debut four years ago in Beijing.
Team USA entered Thursday's contest, which starts at 8:05 a.m., at 5-3 and tied for third in the standings with South Korea and Canada — two teams the Americans defeated. The top four teams in the bracket of 10 advance to the semifinals (8:05 a.m. Friday), and Sweden (7-2) and Switzerland (6-2) have already clinched a spot in the medal round. Great Britain (4-4) is still alive. If teams have the same record, the first tiebreaker is the highest winning percentage in games played against other tied teams. The bronze-medal match will start at 8:05 a.m. Saturday, and the gold-medal game will be at 5:05 a.m. Sunday.
The Anderson twins started curling in the Philly area when they were 6 years old. Both now live in Minnesota, which is considered the U.S. capital of curling, and Taylor works full-time for apparel brand Lululemon. She's the first Delco native to represent the United States in the Winter Olympics.
The Philadelphia Curling Club was established in 1957 and serves as one of the sport's few professional organizations in the region. Members of the Paoli clubhouse gathered Saturday to watch Team USA's 7-4 victory over Japan.
"It's super, super exciting cheering them on," Cody Clouser, the club's president, told the Delaware County Daily Times.
Two years ago, in an interview at the USA Curling National Championships in New Jersey, the Anderson twins talked about their careers and some of the intricacies of the sport.
"I think weight control is the biggest thing you need out there," Taylor said. "... Weight control can make or break the game."
Team USA women's captain Tabitha Peterson, the skip who serves as the tactical leader on the ice, recently told the Grand Slam of Curling that Anderson-Heide showed great strides on her way to qualifying for Olympic competition in November.
"Her sweeping is out of this world," Peterson said. "She's really focused on gaining strength, especially in her upper body, and you can tell by what she does out there on the broom."
Women's curling was added to the Winter Olympics in 1998, but Team USA is still vying for its first medal.
This year's round-robin round has been an up-and-down experience for the Americans. After splitting their matches with South Korea and Sweden last week, they earned the nation's first win over Canada in Olympic competition on Friday, and then took down Japan the following day. On Sunday, Team USA trailed China 4-1 before mounting a dramatic comeback to earn a 6-5 victory.
TEAM USA WOMEN'S CURLING WALKS IT OFF. ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?! 🇺🇸 #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/sW0pWyAozY
— On Her Turf (@OnHerTurf) February 15, 2026
Team USA lost to Italy and beat Denmark on Monday, and then lost to Great Britain on Wednesday morning. A win over Switzerland on Thursday would clinch a semifinals appearance, but a loss would leave the team dependent on other outcomes.
On the men's side, the U.S. curling team appears to be a long shot to reach the semifinals in their bracket entering the final day of competition. They have already finished their nine matches and sit in sixth place with a 4-5 record. In the mixed doubles category, Sweden took the gold medal over Team USA on Feb. 10 in a 6-5 contest decided on the final stone.
