Brad Gushue's post-playing career in curling starts now.
USA Curling hired the two-time Olympic medallist and six-time Brier champion as their new high performance director on Wednesday.
“This role felt like a natural fit, and positions like this don’t come along all that often in the sport of curling," Gushue said in a release. "It is an opportunity to stay close to the sport and make a meaningful impact in a new way.
"I’m excited to work alongside athletes and coaches to help them reach their full potential. Curling is a close-knit, international community, and I’m proud to play a part in strengthening it and driving the sport forward."
Gushue announced in September that this season would be his last in competitive men's curling.
It was an emotional week at the Montana's Brier in March as the 45-year-old from St. John's, N.L., ended his iconic career in front of his hometown crowd at the Mary Brown's Centre.
One of the all-time greats in the sport, Gushue captured gold for Canada at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin. He also won an Olympic bronze medal in 2022 in Beijing.
A Brier title remained elusive for Gushue until he won his first in front of a capacity crowd on home ice in 2017, the same year he also claimed gold at the World Men's Curling Championship.
Gushue won additional Brier titles in 2018 and 2020 plus three in a row from 2022-24.
He won 15 Grand Slam of Curling championships, second only to Kevin Martin (18) in the men's division among skips.
Gushue takes over for Phill Drobnick, who stepped back from the role and was named the director of coaching and competitions on Tuesday.
Drobnick helped guide John Shuster's men's team to Olympic gold in 2018 in Pyeongchang plus Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin's mixed doubles team to silver earlier this year in Milano Cortina.
