Sandra Schmirler

Sandra Schmirler

Sandra Marie Schmirler, SOM (June 11, 1963 – March 2, 2000), was a Canadian curler who captured three Canadian Curling Championships (Scott Tournament of Hearts) and three World Curling Championships. Schmirler also skipped (captained) her Canadian team to a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics, the first year women's curling was a medal sport. At tournaments where she was not competing, Schmirler sometimes worked as a commentator for CBC Sports, which popularized her nickname "Schmirler the Curler" and claimed she was the only person who had a name that rhymed with the sport she played. She died in 2000 at 36 of cancer, leaving a legacy that extended outside of curling. Schmirler was honored posthumously with an induction into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and was awarded the World Curling Freytag Award, which later led to her induction into the World Curling Federation Hall of Fame.