Laura Engler (born October 16, 1999) is a Swiss curler from St. Gallen.

Career

Engler was selected as a member of the Swiss mixed team at the

2016 Winter Youth Olympics The 2016 Winter Youth Olympics (; ), officially known as the II Winter Youth Olympic Games, took place in and around Lillehammer, Norway, from 12 to 21 February 2016. They were the fourth Youth Olympic Games and the second winter edition. Lilleha ...

. Engler threw

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

stones on the team, which was

skip Skip or Skips may refer to: Acronyms * SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene * Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol * SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aiding ...

ped by

Selina Witschonke Selina Witschonke (born December 17, 1998) is a Swiss curler originally from St. Moritz. She currently plays lead on Team Silvana Tirinzoni. Career In 2016, Witschonke was named to the Swiss team for the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in Lillehamme ...

. The team finished the round robin with a 6–1 record, finishing second in their pool. They then beat Sweden 7–3 in the quarter-finals before dropping the semifinal 7–5 to Canada. They won the bronze medal with an 11–3 defeat over Russia. In the mixed doubles event, she was paired with Brazil's Victor Santos. The two lost in their only game, losing 9–1 to Zhao Ruiyi of China and

Andreas Hårstad Andreas Slipersæter Hårstad (born 11 November 1998 in Oppdal Municipality) is a Norway, Norwegian Curling, curler. He currently Skip (curling), skips his own team out of Oppdal (village), Oppdal. At the national level, he is a 2019 Norwegian ...

of Norway. Engler played for Switzerland in three straight

World Junior Curling Championships The World Junior Curling Championships are an annual curling bonspiel featuring the world's best curlers who are 21 years old or younger. The competitions for both men and women occur at the same venue. The men's tournament has occurred since 19 ...

from 2017 to 2019. In 2017, she was the team's alternate and did not play in any games. The team, skipped by Witschonke went 5–4 in group play, before losing to South Korea in a tiebreaker. After winning the 2018

Swiss Junior Curling Championships The Swiss Junior Curling Championships are the national championships of men's and women's junior curling teams in Switzerland. Junior level curlers must be under the age of 21. The championships have been held annually since 1972 for junior men and ...

as a member of the

Raphaela Keiser Raphaela Keiser (born 13 July 1997) is a Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wiscons ...

rink, she was invited to be the Swiss team's alternate again at the

2018 World Junior Curling Championships The 2018 World Junior Curling Championships was held from March 3 to 10 at Curl Aberdeen in Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most popul ...

. Despite being the alternate, she saw action in seven matches. The team, still skipped by Witschonke went 4–5, and missed the playoffs. As Swiss Junior champions from 2018, the Keiser rink earned the right to represent Switzerland at the

2019 World Junior Curling Championships The 2019 World Junior Curling Championships was held from February 16 to 23 at the Queens Place Emera Centre in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinc ...

. The team added Witschonke to the team, throwing last rocks, with Keiser at third (but still skipping) and Engler at second. Through the round robin, the team finished third overall with a 6–3 record, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time. After losing 8–2 in the semifinal against Canada, the team rebounded in the bronze medal game by stealing two in the tenth end to upend China 6–4 and secure Switzerland's first women's world junior medal since 2015. After her junior career, Engler began playing

mixed doubles curling Mixed is the past tense of ''mix''. Mixed may refer to: * Mixed (United Kingdom ethnicity category), an ethnicity category that has been used by the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics since the 2001 Census Music * ''Mixed'' (album) ...

, first playing with Marco Hefti. In 2023, she paired up with Kevin Wunderlin, and won her first

World Curling Tour The World Curling Tour (WCT) is a group of curling bonspiels featuring the best male, female, and Doubles curling, mixed doubles curlers in the world. History The World Curling Tour was founded by former World Champion Ed Lukowich, with later ass ...

event at the Prague Open.

Personal life

Engler is originally from Lutzenberg, and moved to St. Gallen before 2018. Her mother Gabi, father Roger and grandfather were involved in the sport, with her father coaching her women's junior team, and her grandfather being president of the St. Gallen Curling Club. She is a graduate of the Appenzellerland Sports School, where she was also a

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

. She also attended the Trogen Cantonal School, where she studied biology and chemistry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Engler, Laura Swiss female curlers Living people 1999 births Sportspeople from Appenzell Ausserrhoden Sportspeople from St. Gallen (city) 21st-century Swiss sportswomen Curlers at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics