Eagan's Tabitha Peterson Curls Her Way To The Winter Games

EAGAN, MN — At age 10, Eagan's Tabitha Peterson joined the local junior curling program because of the "snack time" at the end. She ended up falling in love with the sport and has been balancing curling with school or her career ever since.

Peterson graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy in 2015 and now works as a pharmacist for Target. She can now add "Olympic curler" to her resume as well.

After missing out on the 2014 Sochi Olympics, her team won at the 2018 Olympic trials. She returned to the pharmacy for work the following Monday.

“My co-workers were going to put up decorations, but they ran out of time,” Peterson told the Washington Post. “So they just handed me the streamers.”

Peterson and her four teammates — collectively known as "Team Roth" — finished fifth at the 2017 World Women's Championship. Now Team Roth — lead by two-time national champion Nina Roth, 29 — will represent as the American women's curling team in PyeongChang. All five team members are making their Olympic debuts.

A big misconception about curling is that it takes little or no skill. "Until people actually get on the ice and try it, they think it looks easy," Peterson told NBC Sports.

Peterson says when people first try curling, they can barely walk the next day.

Also read: Minnesotans In The Olympics: 20 Local Athletes To Watch

Photo credit: The United States' Becca Hamilton, left, and Tabitha Peterson sweep a path for the stone during a match against Switzerland in the CPT World Women's Curling Championship in Beijing, Thursday, March 23, 2017. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)