It was a tough blip on the radar to an otherwise strong run, as Humboldt's Dustin Kalthoff and partner Marliese Kasner competed in the World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Sweden.

Following a perfect round robin standing, the duo representing Canada earned a berth in the quarter-finals against Scotland.

As the game has it, one or two shots made the difference in a difficult-to-take 6-5 loss to Scotland, which ended any chance at finishing on the podium.

Kalthoff expressed the feeling of losing that game as 'indescribable'.

"It's something that unfortunately I will have to carry with me for the rest of my life. The stats kind of support that we were the best team throughout the competition. We had one hiccup and that's sport," he explained. "That loss took us out of medal contention, and then we had to play two games to put a placing on our finish that would account in a very important way in how Canada would qualify for the Olympics."

They would go on to win those final two games, doubling up Finland 10-5, before knocking off Estonia 8-2 to secure a fifth place finish.

New to the Winter Olympics in 2018, Mixed Doubles curling will have eight teams, including one spot for the hosts from South Korea. That means, with only seven spots open, it was critical for Kalthoff and Kasner to win their final two games to finish in the top seven.

"We did earn a berth into the Olympic trials, so that was goal number one," Kalthoff said.

Being able to represent and qualify Canada for the Olympics in the sport also gives the duo an upper edge nationally.

"We obtained Olympic funding for the next two years to participate in very intensive training for the next two years to prepare ourselves," he stated. "Basically, we will undergo an intensive training regiment to try to physically and mentally prepare ourselves, as well as attend the biggest and best events we can find for Mixed Doubles."

The road through provincials, on to nationals, and eventually to Sweden for World's hasn't been without it's adjustments for Kalthoff.

Originally, he was partnered with longtime curler Sherry Anderson, but after she skipped her senior team to a provincial championship, Kalthoff had to look elsewhere, as both national events took place at the same time.

That's when he connected with one of Anderson's former teammates in Kasner.

"It's crazy to think that Marliese and I have only been playing together for 30 days, and we have done so well to be able to play at World's," he exclaimed. "I came into it with lots of Mixed Doubles experience, and she came into it with International experience, and National experience. Marliese and I are very interested in continuing on as a team."

With added funding to support training, Kalthoff knows they still have a lot of time left before the Canadian trials take place to qualify for the 2018 Olympics.

It will, however, be time spent to ensure they are as ready to go as possible when the time does come.

"We have a tremendous amount of work to do to really be in that kind of position, but it would mean a dream come true [to represent Canada at the Olympics] or some kind of cliche saying like that," he said. "I don't know what words to use, it would mean something beyond what I can even describe right now."

While the season concluded for Kalthoff and Kasner as a team following Worlds, he explained that it won't be long before they start training for next season.

"Marliese and I now need to make a plan for next year and what kind of training we can do in the offseason. We've got a major Mixed Doubles bonspiel already in September, so we pretty much have to start a training regiment right away."

Among the tournaments on the way next season will be a return to the national championship, as they already qualified with their top four finish this year.

You can hear Kalthoff's full interview below.