Canadian curlers seeking golden sweep
Jennifer Jones has won almost everything there is to win in her sport and has long been in the conversation about the greatest female curler of all time.
There is, however, one notable entry missing from her resume. On Wednesday, she was asked what an Olympic gold medal would mean to her and to her team.
“It’s a dream come true,” she said. “It’s what every athlete wants.”
Then with her eyes glistening, she paused for a beat. The Ice Woman, as it turns out, does feel this moment.
“You’re going to make me cry and I was not going to cry,” she said. “We have an opportunity, but win or lose I’m so proud. I can’t ask for any thing more.”
Wednesday, in a cracker of a semifinal, Jones and her Winnipeg-based rink outlasted Great Britain’s Eve Muirhead 6-4 with a nerveless display of shotmaking over the game’s second half, punctuated by a stone-cold draw to the four-foot with her final rock in the 10th end.
Jones, lead Dawn McEwen, second Jill Officer and third Kaitlyn Lawes now advance to Thursday’s gold-medal game, where they’ll meet Sweden’s Maria Prytz, the four-time world silver medallist. Prytz edged Switzerland’s Mirjam Ott 7-5 in the other semifinal.
Jones has been a fixture on the national and international scene for more than 20 years. Over that time, she’s competed in 10 Scotties, winning four to go with a gold and bronze at the world championships.
This is her first appearance at the Olympics and is 9-0.
Canadian women have made the podium at every Olympics since curling was introduced as a medal sport in Nagano in 1998, but the late Sandra Schmirler, who won in Japan, is the last Canadian woman to win gold.
Jones also has a chance to become the first woman to go through the Olympic bonspiel undefeated.
Canada’s Kevin Martin, who won gold in Vancouver, is the only man to do it.
“I’m so proud of the girls,” said Jones. “We’ve worked harder than we’ve ever worked. We’ve fine-tuned everything and it showed today.”
The tournament hasn’t gone so smoothly for Brad Jacobs, yet the Canadian will also have a shot at a gold medal.
Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.-based rink came up with its most complete performance in dismantling China’s Liu Rui 106 Wednesday, running its winning streak to seven games while securing a spot in the men’s final Friday.
They’ll meet Great Britain’s David Murdoch, who downed Sweden’s Niklas Edin 6-5 in the other semifinal.
Starting 1-2, Jacobs sought the advice of someone who knows best.
“(Canadian men’s hockey coach Mike Babcock) said you’re 1-2, that doesn’t mean anything,” said Jacobs. “It’s how you finish. Just go out there and execute. That’s exactly what we’ve done.”