Koe draws on teammates’ golden past
CALGARY— An ace in Kevin Koe’s pocket as his curling team prepares for the Winter Olympics is having a pair of teammates who have been there, won gold.
Third Marc Kennedy and lead Ben Hebert were Kevin Martin’s front end at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C., where they and third John Morris went 11-0 en route to the top of the podium.
Koe, Kennedy, second Brent Laing and Hebert will attempt to extend the country’s run of men’s curling gold in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February.
The Brad Jacobs team out of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., was victorious in Sochi, Russia, in 2014.
Koe intends to pick the brains of his third and lead on how to successfully navigate what is a sporting event like no other.
It’s been a whirlwind for the Calgary-based Koe team since they beat Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen to win the Roar of the Rings trials Dec. 10 in Ottawa.
“We haven’t had really much of a chance to talk as a team since we won,” Koe said Wednesday at the Glencoe Club.
“But you know experience is usually pretty good, especially when they won in the past. I think it can only help.
“I’m sure we’ll sit down in the New Year and chat about their past experience at the Olympics. What went well and what didn’t and what we can maybe use going forward to help us.”
One aspect Hebert expects to be different is the quality of the field.
“It’s a heck of a lot tougher to win now than it was the last time I went in 2010,” Hebert said.
“The semifinal and final were tougher games, but we had games during the round robin where we were running guys out of the building in five ends.
“We don’t expect that this time. These world teams have put a lot of work in, a lot of time, we’ve played them all on the tour and they’re very, very good teams. We’re going to have to go there and play a really good week.”
Koe and Hebert live and work in Calgary, while Kennedy is from St. Albert, Alta., near Edmonton. Laing, whose wife, Jennifer Jones, skipped Canada to Olympic gold in Sochi, resides in Barrie, Ontario.
Kennedy, Laing and Hebert have each won three men’s world championships in their careers and Koe two. They claimed their one world title as a foursome in 2016.
Canada has high expectations of its hockey and curling teams at Winter Olympics.
“You always want to be the favourite,” Hebert stated. “If you’re the favourite, that means if you go play good, you win.
“We’re not going there to win silver or bronze. If we do win an Olympic medal, we’re going to be happy regardless, but obviously we’re going there with expectations of winning gold.”