Canada's Brad Gushue, left, and Canada's Brett Gallant celebrate victory in the men's bronze medal curling match on Friday.LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA/AFP/Getty Images
Sixteen years after winning an Olympic gold medal at his first Games, Brad Gushue has earned a bronze one to pair with it – Canada’s only curling medal in Beijing.
Less than 24 hours after suffering a heartbreaking loss in the semi-finals that had the skip in tears, Gushue’s Canadian rink bounced back to defeat reigning U.S. Olympic champion John Shuster 8-5 in Friday’s bronze medal match.
The team of Gushue, Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker came to the Beijing Olympics determined to win gold. Trailing in the 10th end to Sweden in a Thursday semi-final, they chose to try for a run-double instead of going for one to force an extra end. The rock overcurled by a hair, and Canada lost its chance to play for gold. They were forced to quickly recalibrate to play for bronze on Friday.
Gushue and Nichols had been part of Canada’s first Olympic gold medal-winning team in men’s curling at the 2006 Turin Games. So playing in an Olympic bronze medal match was a new experience. The other two men were making their Olympic debuts, and Gushue was determined to get them all on the podium.
Pleased about how his team persevered on Friday, but also emotionally exhausted from a tough tournament, the skip from St. John’s talked afterward about the incredible curling talent in these Games. Sweden and Britain play for gold Saturday.
“It’s quite clear to any curling fan we weren’t at our best this week. So quite proud to get on the podium,” Gushue said. “To get a bronze medal, of all the curling teams in the world, to be one of three teams, it’s pretty special. Hopefully, curling fans understand that.”
The men’s team was the last of the Canadian curlers standing in Beijing, and they kept alive the country’s streak of a curling medal at every Winter Olympics since 1998. Both the mixed doubles team of Rachel Homan and John Morris and the women’s rink skipped by Jennifer Jones missed out on the playoffs by narrow margins.
The bronze medal match had some interesting twists inside Beijing’s Ice Cube on Friday.
Canada was leading 4-3 lead after the fifth end, but missed shots caused some stress and allowed the U.S to pull ahead in the sixth.
Geoff Walker, Brad Gushue and Brett Gallant of Team Canada compete against the United States in the bronze medal game on Friday.Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
In an unusual moment, Gushue called for the ice to be mopped in the seventh end when he believed that some debris from the foam boards that surround the ice had caused a couple of his rocks to pick. The officials at first refused, but Shuster’s team agreed it should be done and volunteers eventually mopped it.
“It gave me peace of mind because if I had to play down that same spot again in the ninth then I would have felt a whole lot more comfortable,” Gushue said. “You don’t want to have that dealt when you sit in the hack.”
It seemed to turn the tide for Canada. Down the stretch, Canada had a huge steal of two in the ninth, putting the bronze medal in reach. Then some key takeouts in the 10th denied Team Shuster to get back in it.
Nichols said the days of Canadians just dominating at the Olympics are over. Other nations are so good now. It’s far more challenging.
“All the top teams in every other country, they’re as good as us,” Nichols said. “It’s not going to be easy for Canadian curlers. … You’re not going to waltz in here and just walk yourself into the semi-finals.”
He and Gushue both pondered whether Canadian curling teams might feel more prepared for the Games if the Canadian Olympic trials were held earlier, so the Canadian representatives had more time. They were held in late November, 2021. Gushue would like to see them happen in the spring.
“To give those teams a little bit more prep and put us on a level playing field to teams like [Sweden skip] Niklas Edin, and [Britain skip] Bruce Mouat, who have known for a long time they’re coming here,” Gushue said. “Whether that happens or not, I don’t know. I’ve been pushing for that for 16 years.”
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