Between Habit and Heart: How Olympic Curler Tara Peterson Built a Career of Longevity

When you watch Tara Peterson step into the ice at the Olympic Games, what you see is calm precision. What you don’t immediately see is the years of habit that have carried her there.

Curling is a marathon of focus stretched across four hours at a time. The warm-up, the team meeting, the slow rhythm of each end, and the quiet intensity of every shot. Rather than force constant concentration, Tara has learned to know when to let her mind wander and when to return to center.

“You’ll catch me staring off, maybe even talking to fans…that’s normal,” she says with a smile. “But when it’s my turn to throw, that’s my time.”

Her unique ability to return to presence is anchored in ritual. The same pre-shot routine, game after game, year after year. The same breath, the same steps, the same trust in her body.

When the stakes are highest….a must-make shot, a tight scoreline, the weight of the Olympic spotlight…Tara reaches for habit.

“I quite literally tell myself: go back to habit. Trust your body. You know how to do this.”

Sisters on Ice: Trust You Can’t Teach

It’s a family affair. Tara is making her second Olympic appearance in Milan and will once again be competing right alongside her sister, Tabitha Peterson. 

Curling is already a sport of deep trust, but sibling trust is a whole different level entirely. Tara is the first to say that they have a bond that only years of shared history can build.

“There are things you can say to your sister that you just can’t say to anyone else,” Tara reflects. “We read each other without speaking. That’s an advantage.”

They aren’t just teammates. They are family, growing, competing, and evolving together on the world stage. In a sport where one stone can shift the entire game, having someone beside you who knows you at your core makes all the difference.

A New Role This Olympics: Mom! 

For Tara, this quad has looked very different from 2022.

Her first Games were shaped by COVID: masks, empty stands, distance from loved ones, and isolation from the Olympic experience many dream about. When Tara saw Italy announced as the next host, she turned to her teammates and simply said, “I think we should do that.”

She wanted a real Olympics. One where her husband could be there, where her parents could cheer, where the energy of the Games could be felt in full.

But life didn’t pause for sport. Instead, it expanded.

Tara chose to start a family, and remarked that this decision came with both joy and uncertainty. Even her sports psychologist gently cautioned that motherhood could make another Olympics unlikely.

Tara’s response was simple: “No. I’ll make it back.”That belief, paired with an extraordinary support system carried her through pregnancy, training, and the long road back to elite competition.

She didn’t just return. She thrived and joined a small but powerful cohort of Olympic moms proving that excellence and motherhood can coexist. Her son may not remember these Games, but someday he’ll see the photos, hear the stories, and know that his mom didn’t just chase big dreams, she lived them.

Longevity Built on Love of the Game

Tara began curling at eight years old out of curiosity, play, and community. Over time, that childhood spark grew into discipline, dedication, and world-class performance. Yet, she looks back on her career with such radiant joy. 

“It doesn’t feel like work when you love what you do,” she says. “You just keep going.”

She remarked that time moves differently when passion carries you forward. Even training with the same coach for the past eight years has felt like four. Her secret to longevity isn’t intensity, but rather balance. 

As her coach reminds her: in the end, curling is just a game.

But it is a game that has shaped who Tara is, strengthened her character, and equipped her for every season of life. The patience, resilience, and steadiness she’s built on the ice now live with her in dentistry, in motherhood, and in the way she shows up for the people she loves.

And that is the true measure of a career built to last.

Stories like Tara’s are exactly what Back The Team is built to share. We’re going behind-the-scenes of the Winter Games through real conversations about mindset, pressure, and performance from the world’s best athletes. Live from Milan as the action unfolds. Follow along!