`Tough mother' returns three weeks after giving birth
The words “one tough mother” come to mind when talking about Rachel Homan.
How else do you explain her surprising appearance on the ice Thursday, taking her usual place as skip of her world-class team just three weeks after giving birth to daughter Bowyn?
Yup, there she was back in the Calgary curling bubble for the Humpty's Champions Cup after last being seen throwing rocks here in the final of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts on Feb. 28 while eight months pregnant.
“Most of the curlers are pretty surprised to see me here,” said Homan, with a laugh following the first day of action in the first of back-to-back Pinty's Grand Slam of Curling events at Winsport. “I've heard a couple of “you're crazy” comments, but lots of support from curlers and friends.
“It might seem a little crazy, but we'll just keep going. Other than lack of sleep, it's going pretty good.”
Indeed, Homan is here juggling curling and mommy duties and seemed no worse for wear other than admittedly being tired after a two-game opening day to start the Champions Cup.
“What she's doing is amazing,” said Edmonton's Laura Walker, herself curling as a new mom in the bubble and on hand for the next two weeks as an alternate for Team Homan. “More than just the physical aspect, a newborn needs a lot and runs on their own schedule, and Rachel is managing it all so well. The whole team supports her with whatever she needs, and her mom is here as a caregiver.”
It wasn't necessarily in the game plan to return to the bubble after the birth. But Bowyn's early arrival to the world made it possible.
She was born March 25 — a few weeks ahead of the due date — to Homan and husband Shawn Germain.
“It worked out great with her,” Homan said. “My first child (Ryatt) was early, and I thought if Bowyn was early, then I thought there might be a chance to curl. And a week after her birth, things went really well. I wanted to see if I could slide, and I could slide, so I felt like I could maybe curl. We didn't have any practice or anything, but we tried it out, and it worked out well.”
They flew to Calgary from Ottawa earlier this week, stepped into the bubble and declared after practice Wednesday she was fit to skip.
“I was able to throw lots and throw the shots, and everything felt great,” continued the 32-year-old three-time Scotties champion. “So I was excited to be able to go forward with our regular team lineup (of third Emma Miskew, second Sarah Wilkes and lead Joanne Courtney) and get some more games in before Olympic trials (next fall) since it's a big year coming up and we haven't had a lot of games together (due to COVID). It's really great that I'm able to play and get more games in together.”
Team Homan got its first win in the Champions Cup on Thursday by defeating Team Stern 7-3, using a three-ender in the third sandwiched by counts of one in the first and fifth ends and steals in the sixth and seventh to salt away the victory. Earlier on Day 1, Homan (1-1) lost to two-time reigning Scotties queen Kerri Einarson 6-3.
“We had a great battle — both teams played phenomenal,” Homan said. “And Kerri had a long runback double for the win, so kudos to her for making it. It could've gone either way.
“Really proud of the girls for coming out strong.
“We had no practise, and it was our first game back since the Scotties and we played really, really well.
“We just carried it through to the afternoon, and we were able to play really strong against Stern and pull out the win this time.”
EXTRA ENDS
The opening draw also saw: John Epping drop Jason Gunnlaugson 8-3; Brendan Bottcher edge Yannick Schwaller 6-4; and Kevin Koe score five in the second for 6-2 defeat of world champ Niklas Edin … In Draw 2, it was: Eve Muirhead squeaking by Anna Hasselborg 6-5; Tracy Fleury over Min-ji Kim 5-3; Bruce Mouat defeating Peter De Cruz 6-4; and Brad Gushue stopping Matt Dunstone 5-2 … Draw 3 also saw: Brad Jacobs using an extra end to beat Mike Mcewen 4-3; Alina Kovaleva topping Satsuki Fujisawa 9-5; and Silvana Tirinzoni taking out Jennifer Jones 5-3 … And Draw 4 late Thursday featured: Epping vs. Bottcher; Schwaller vs. Koe; Edin vs. Gunnlaugson; and Einarson vs. Tabitha Peterson ... On Friday, the Champions Cup continues with round-robin action in
Draw 5 (8 a.m.), Draw 6 (noon, Sportsnet West), Draw 7 (4 p.m., Sportsnet Pacific) and Draw 8 (8 p.m., Sportsnet 360).