E.J. Harnden

Biography

E.J. Harnden competed alongside brother Ryan on the team that at Sochi 2014 won Canada’s third straight Olympic gold medal in men’s curling. The team skipped by his cousin Brad Jacobs posted a 7-2 round robin record in Sochi, before defeating China 10-6 in the semifinal and Great Britain 9-3 in the final. They had started the Olympic tournament with a 1-2 record, but an honest team chat sparked them to run the table the rest of the way.

The Harnden brothers first competed at the Brier in 2008, before joining forces with Jacobs in 2009. In 2010 they became the first Northern Ontario team to qualify for the playoffs at the Brier since 1993 and won the bronze medal. In 2013 they became the first Northern Ontario team to win the Brier since 1985 and went on to win silver at the world championships.

Despite their national and international success, Team Jacobs was not directly qualified to the 2013 Canadian Curling Trials. They had to go through the pre-trials bonspiel, from which they were the very last qualifiers for the Trials. The team went on to post a perfect 7-0 record in round robin play at the Trials, giving them a bye to the final where they beat Team John Morris 7-4.

The Sochi 2014 foursome stayed together through the 2018-19 season. In that time, they finished as the runners-up at the 2015 Brier and won bronze medals at the 2016 and 2019 Briers. For the 2019-20 season, two-time Olympian Marc Kennedy replaced Ryan Fry at third. The new-look Team Jacobs won three straight Grand Slam events in 2019-20 and made it to the 3-4 page playoff game at the 2020 Brier.

A Little More About E.J.

Getting into the Sport: Father Eric Harnden has always been his idol and he grew up watching his dad compete… Younger brother Ryan is also a member of Team Brad Jacobs… Started curling at age eight when he was introduced to it by his father and began competing at age 14 in high school bonspiels… Outside Interests: Enjoys lifting weights, watching movies and listening to music… In the off-season enjoys golfing, camping and travelling… Director of Channel Operations for Northern Credit Union… Earned his Bachelor of Business Administration with a specialization in marketing from Algoma University in 2006… The annual Team Jacobs Charity Golf Classic raises money for the Sault Area Hospital Maternal Child Care Fund and the Team Jacobs Follow Your Dream Bursary at Algoma University… Odds and Ends: Favourite Olympic memory is Sidney Crosby’s gold medal-winning goal at Vancouver 2010… Has always loved all sports and dreamed of competing at the Olympic Games to be a part of history… Favourite quote: “In the end people will judge you anyway, so don’t live your life trying to impress others, live your life impressing yourself”…