Milan: At the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, Canada delivered a clutch performance to defeat Great Britain 9–6 in a gripping men’s curling final on Saturday (21 February), reclaiming the Olympic gold in style.
Skip Brad Jacobs guided his experienced rink of Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant, and Ben Hebert through a tense, back-and-forth contest to secure Canada’s fourth Olympic men’s curling title. With the triumph, Jacobs added to the gold he won at Sochi 2014, becoming the first men’s skip in history to claim two Olympic titles.
The victory also marked a second Olympic gold for Kennedy and Hebert, who were part of Canada’s victorious team at Vancouver 2010.
For Great Britain, it was heartbreak once again. Skip Bruce Mouat and his rink of Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie, and Hammy McMillan Jr had to settle for silver for the second consecutive Games, having also fallen in the final at Beijing 2022.
The gold medal match was a classic. Britain appeared in control midway through the contest, especially in the sixth end when Mouat produced a stunning final shot to remove two Canadian stones and claim two points for a 5–4 lead. Team GB edged ahead 6–5 after the eighth end and looked poised to seize the title, holding the hammer for the decisive 10th end.
But the momentum shifted dramatically in the ninth. The 40-year-old Jacobs delivered under pressure, scoring three crucial points to give Canada an 8–6 advantage — the first two-point lead of the evening for either side.
With nerves fraying in the final end, Canada sealed victory with a decisive steal in the 10th, sparking jubilant celebrations from the Canadian camp while Mouat and his teammates were left in tears once again.
Earlier in the day, Switzerland claimed bronze after a dominant 9–1 win over Norway. Canada had finished second in the round-robin stage — including a convincing 9–5 victory over Great Britain — before edging Norway 5–4 in a tight semi-final. Team GB, who scraped into the playoffs in fourth place after four round-robin defeats, had revived their campaign with an impressive 8–5 semi-final win over unbeaten Switzerland.
Yet in the end, it was Canada who held their nerve when it mattered most, reaffirming their status as curling’s Olympic powerhouse.
Source: Milano Cortina Olympics
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