Olympic men’s curling fun facts for the final
SOCHI, Russia – As you’re watching the men’s gold medal curling game between Canada and Great Britain, here are some fun facts to keep in mind:
- During the round robin portion of the tournament, Canada beat Great Britain 7-5 when British skip David Murdoch missed a double takeout chance on the final stone that would have given the Brits the victory.
- Both teams won medals at the 2013 World Championships when Brad Jacobs’ rink won silver while Murdoch’s rink claimed bronze for Scotland. At that tournament, Canada beat Scotland twice, 9-4 in the round robin and 6-3 in the semifinal.
- Canada has never lost to Great Britain in men’s curling at the Olympic Winter Games, winning all five previous matches.
- Canada has played in the men’s gold medal game at each of the Winter Games since curling returned to the Olympic program at Nagano 1998. Jacobs is aiming to make it a three-peat for Canada, following gold medals by Brad Gushue’s team at Turin 2006 and Kevin Martin’s team at Vancouver 2010.
- A win by Jacobs would make Canada the first country to ever sweep both the men’s and women’s curling gold medals at a single Olympic Games, following the win by Jennifer Jones’ team on Thursday.
- A win by Jacobs would also make this the third winter event in Canada has won at least three straight Olympic gold medals. The men’s hockey team won four straight gold medals from 1920 to 1932 and the women’s hockey team earned its fourth straight gold medal on Thursday.
- Win or lose, Canada maintains its record of being the only country to be on the podium in both the men’s and women’s events at each Olympic Winter Games since Nagano 1998
