By John Hodge

Canada has won gold at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games after beating Great Britain in the gold medal game on Saturday night by a score of 9-6.

This matchup didn’t start with a wide-open blank, as is often the case in high-pressure games – particularly in men’s curling. With 1,829 fans looking on at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, both teams put rocks in play and Bruce Mouat, Great Britain’s skip, made an excellent tap with his first stone. Brad Jacobs, the Canadian skip, missed a similar shot with his first rock but was perfect on his second, making a nose hit to score one.

Great Britain took a 2-1 lead after scoring a deuce in the second end, which was set-up by a brilliant hit and roll from third Grant Hardie that killed two Canadian stones. Canadian third Marc Kennedy jammed his runback attempt on the following shot, which allowed Mouat’s rink to split the rings and eventually secure the two-spot.

Canada got a deuce back in the third end when Hardie tried a soft-weight hit-and-roll that rolled too far and failed to eliminate any Canadian stones. Mouat and Jacobs traded soft-weight hits around the centre guard with skip stones and made no mistakes as Canada reclaimed the lead at 3-2.

Great Britain was facing trouble late in the fourth end when Mouat missed a raise on his first stone, leaving two Canadian rocks in the house behind a guard. Jacobs drew to sit three with his last rock but rubbed off one of his own stones to set-up an easy double-takeout for one, which Mouat made to tie the game 3-3.

Canada was in trouble during the fifth end until third Marc Kennedy made a brilliant runback on his second stone to eliminate one of two buried rocks and open the other. Jacobs narrowly missed a triple-takeout on his first shot, then had a chance to blank the end with a thick double-takeout on his second. The native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. eliminated both British stones but didn’t get the rollout, resulting in a single and a 4-3 lead for Canada.

In the sixth end, Jacobs had a nose hit to force Great Britain to one but mistakenly rolled inside, setting up a double-takeout. Mouat aced the big-weight hit to score a deuce, raising the team’s supporters to their feet and a deafening roar, and give his team a 5-4 lead.

The Canadians were forced to take one in the seventh end when Kennedy connected on a runback but one of the British stones hung onto a piece the twelve-foot, allowing Mouat to draw to sit two. There appeared to be concern that Jacobs was heavy on his last stone, though the draw stopped in the four-foot for a single point to make the score 5-5.

The eighth end marked the first time the British had the hammer without also being behind on the scoreboard. Bobby Lammie, the team’s second, had a couple of uncharacteristic misses, however, that resulted in no fewer than six guards protecting a Canadian stone in the rings. Hardie made a brilliant double-runback on his first rock but his team spent the entire end chasing. Mouat eventually was forced to hit for one and take a 6-5 lead.

Lammie had another tough end in the ninth when he wrecked on his first shot, then removed only one Canadian stone on a double-takeout attempt with his second. Canada sat three for most of the end and Mouat’s rink failed to convert any double-takeouts, eventually leading the skip to try a freeze on his last stone. The native of Edinburgh, Scotland bounced slightly off shot rock to give Jacobs a shot for four, though he only scored three after being unable to hold his shooter.

Canada carried an 8-6 lead into the tenth end, where both teams attacked the house early and often. In the end, Jacobs was left with a big-weight double-takeout, which he made to sit two. Mouat tried to remove both but it didn’t appear it was possible to do so without losing his shooter, which he would need to stick to send the game to an extra end. He ended up nosing the first Canadian stone, giving up a steal of one and making the final score 9-6.

Jacobs, Kennedy, and Hebert have now each won two Olympic gold medals. Jacobs won his first at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, while Kennedy and Hebert won gold with Kevin Martin at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games. Gallant won bronze with Brad Gushue at the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games, where Kennedy also won bronze as the team’s alternate.

The British foursome of Mouat, Hardie, Lammie, and lead Hammy McMillan Jr. have now each won two Olympic silver medals after capturing their first in 2022, losing the gold medal game in an extra end to Sweden.


The bronze medal game was a blowout on Friday night as Switzerland beat Norway by a score of 9-1. Swiss fourth-thrower Benoît Schwarz-van Berkel made a hit for three in the second end, then Magnus Ramsfjell, the Norwegian skip, missed a double-takeout with his last stone in the third end to give up a steal of one.

With a 4-0 lead, there was no reason for the Swiss to put many rocks in play. Norway scored its lone point on a hit-and-roll in the fifth end, then Switzerland blanked ends six and seven before adding a deuce in the eighth. Facing three with his last stone in the ninth end, Ramsfjell did a spinorama knowing the game was over, then shook hands to concede the match.

Switzerland shot 90 percent as a team, compared to 81 percent from the Norwegians. Schwarz-van Berkel, who has now won two Olympic bronze medals, was the standout at 96 percent.

The win gave Switzerland its first Olympic medal in curling since the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games when Peter de Cruz skipped the men’s team to a bronze and Jenny Perret and Martin Rios won silver in the mixed doubles. The Swiss women’s team will add another medal at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium on Sunday when Silvana Tirinzoni’s rink takes on Sweden in the gold medal game.

Lead photo by TCG/ Anil Mungal