Shuster’s win a bit of a ‘miracle’
Like most of the curling cognoscenti, Brad Gushue and Brad Jacobs didn’t envision American skip John Shuster on the gold medal podium at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The U.S. team won the men’s curling competition in South Korea by reeling off five consecutive wins after starting
2-4, claiming Canada’s Kevin Koe and Sweden’s top-ranked team skipped by Niklas Edin as victims in the process to win gold.
“If I was going to bet, I would not have bet on Shuster,” said Gushue.
“I’m not shocked or surprised they won because I know what they’re capable of doing. They’re a good team and they can beat all of the top teams.”
Gushue said Shuster’s squad is the type of team that requires a hot week with a bit of good luck to be able to pull off a big win.
“They needed some breaks to go their way, and they got an off game from Niklas in the final, maybe from Kevin in the semi, and they played well. Those are the type of breaks that some teams require to win. But John, their team is really, really good. Certainly I’d be lying if I said they were as good as Niklas or Kevin, but they’re certainly in the next tier, so they’re right there,” said Gushue, who did see a benefit from the victory.
“Once Kevin and his team was out I was cheering hard for John. No disrespect to Niklas because they’re one of the best teams in the world, but I think it is very good for curling to get that exposure.”
Jacobs said Shuster earned the gold medal, and agrees with Gushue that it was a benefit to the sport.
“I know they’re on a victory lap right now touring all over the States doing all sorts of fun things. It’s well deserved, they earned it, and our hats go off to them,” said Jacobs. “To be honest with you, I would have never given them a chance going into those Olympics. It was a little bit of a miracle that they were able to pull it off. And to be able to pull it off being 2-4 is really an incredible feat, so well deserved.”