Canadian skip Brad Jacobs of Canada during Thursday's match against Norway.Jennifer Lorenzini/Reuters
Canadian skip Brad Jacobs said Saturday’s Olympic men’s curling gold medal final with Bruce Mouat’s Great Britain rink will be a battle of “two heavyweight teams.”
Both skips have been in the gold medal game before, but only one of them has stepped on top of the Olympic podium.
Here’s what you need to know about today’s Olympic final (1 p.m. ET) at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium:
Who is Team Great Britain?
Britain's Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie and Hammy McMillan compete against Switzerland on Thursday.Fatima Shbair/The Associated Press
Mouat’s team includes lead Hammy McMillan, second Bobby Lammie and third Grant Hardie.
Together, the men from Scotland are reigning Olympic silver medalists, after losing gold to Sweden at the Beijing Winter Games.
Since that near-miss at the top Olympic step in 2022, Mouat’s rink has dominated men’s curling, winning two World Championships, a couple of European crowns, and 12 Grand Slam titles.
But the world’s top-ranked team hardly cruised during round-robin play in Cortina. They won four of their first five and then skidded through a losing streak before gutting out a big win over the U.S. and got some luck from other teams in the standings to squeak into the playoffs with a 5-4 record. Then Great Britain pulled off an epic semi-final 9-0 win over Switzerland to punch a ticket to the gold medal game.
“We play well when it matters, that’s the belief that we have in this team,” said Mouat. “We’ve done it at world championships, we’ve done it at numerous competitions throughout our careers, so very proud of how we’ve dealt with all that pressure.”
Who is Team Canada?
Canada's Brad Jacobs, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert compete against Norway on Thursday.Fatima Shbair/The Associated Press
Jacobs already has an Olympic gold medal to his name, from the 2014 Sochi Olympics, won with a different group of Canadian curlers.
He beat a Great Britain team in that gold medal game in Sochi 12 years ago, skipped by David Murdoch, who is now Curling Canada’s high performance director. That Brad Jacobs was
“I can see a very different Brad now. I still see that unbelievable intensity. He’s one of the most dedicated athletes I have ever seen,” said Murdoch. “He’s got the experience now as to how to how to manage that. I think that actually puts him in a better spot than he’s ever been.”
Jacobs’s three teammates in Cortina also each have Olympic medals on their resumes. But for the group, this is this is their first trip to the Winter Games as a team, their first chance to step on the podium together.
Lead Ben Hebert and third Marc Kennedy won gold as young front end players for Team Kevin Martin at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Brett Gallant has earned the most recent Olympic medal, having secured bronze with Team Brad Gushue in 2022.
Together, Team Jacobs went 7-2 in Olympic round robin play at these Games, then won a tense semifinal over Norway Thursday to advance to the gold medal game.
“I’m so happy for my guys. I play for them. We play for each other,” said Jacobs. “To see the look on their faces after we won is the reason I play.”
Head-to-head
Canada’s men beat Great Britain during round-robin play in Cortina on Tuesday, 9-5.
Team Jacobs and Team Mouat met with big stakes in Moose Jaw, Sask., at the 2025 world men’s curling championship semi-final in April. Mouat took that one 7-4.
“I know those guys have had a little bit of an up and down week, but they show up when it matters most,” said Jacobs of Team Mouat. “They’re the number one team in the world for a reason. Looking forward to another battle against the best team in the world.”
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