Montreal Gazette

Courtney aims to double up on world gold

- DONNA SPENCER

CALGARY It was FOMO — or fear of missing out — that has Joanne Courtney representi­ng Canada at a world curling championsh­ip for the second time in less than a month.

Courtney’s teammates Rachel Homan, Emma Miskew and Lisa Weagle were playing mixed doubles and Courtney didn’t want to be the only one among them not giving it a go.

“It’s tough to sit at home and feel left out of something,” Courtney said. “It’s nice to be a part of the developmen­t of a new discipline in curling. It’s a sport we’re all passionate about.”

Courtney and Reid Carruthers, who skips a Winnipeg men’s team ranked third in the world, will wear the Maple Leaf at the world mixed doubles championsh­ip beginning Saturday in Lethbridge, Alta.

Homan, Miskew, Courtney and Weagle won their first women’s world title and Canada’s first since 2008 in Beijing on March 26.

Courtney and Carruthers then beat Homan and John Morris in the national mixed doubles final April 9 in Saskatoon, which sent Courtney to yet another world championsh­ip.

“To get to wear the Maple Leaf one time was the most amazing thing,” the 28-year-old from Edmonton said. “How well we did at worlds was incredible. To turn around and get to wear it again right away is a feeling not a lot of people have experience­d.”

Canada is a world powerhouse in men’s and women’s curling, but not in mixed doubles. In the 10 years of world championsh­ips, one bronze medal in 2009 is the country’s best result. Switzerlan­d has won five times, while Russia and Hungary have twice won gold.

This year’s 39-country world championsh­ip ultimately determines which seven nations will join host South Korea next year when mixed doubles makes its Olympic debut.

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