BRIER GETS ROLLING
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Ben Hebert was left with mixed feelings after taking part in his second Winter Olympics.
The Regina-born lead with Team Canada’s Kevin Koe enjoyed his Olympic experience and meeting with other athletes in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
As a counterbalance, there was Canada’s performance in curling. Canada returned from the Winter Olympics without a medal in men’s and women’s curling for the first time since the sport was awarded full medal status in 1998.
Koe, Hebert, third Marc Kennedy and second Brent Laing finished fourth after a 7-5 loss to Switzerland’s Peter de Cruz in the bronze-medal game.
“It’s super bittersweet because it’s so hard to get to the Olympic Games out of Canada as a curler, male or female, because there are so many good teams,” Hebert said. “I’ve been so fortunate to go to the Games twice and to be on two amazing teams that conquered the field at the Olympic trials.
“I’m bitter about it, because when you get those opportunities, you like to take advantage of them. We didn’t seize the moment and we’re obviously disappointed in our performance.”
That disappointment didn’t deter Koe and Co. from making Friday ’s scheduled appearance at the Tim Hortons Brier. Team Canada mingled with fans and signed autographs at the Brier Patch before the wild-card game at the Canadian men’s curling championship.
“We were going to have to face the music eventually,” Hebert said. “We’re still the Canadian Olympic team and we have some great stories to tell. It’s just not the stories we were hoping to tell.”
Hebert had stories after winning a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics with Kennedy, skip Kevin Martin and third John Morris.
Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones won the gold medal on the women’s side in 2010. Canada’s Rachel Homan never reached those heights in South Korea, missing the playoffs.
The Canadian mixed doubles team of Morris and Kaitlyn Lawes won the gold medal in that event’s debut at the Winter Olympics.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to be on the winning side of it,” Hebert said. “I’m now dealing with the reality of being on the other side, which most people go through. It’s not fun, and all of the congratulations of getting to the Olympics aren’t the same as being an Olympic medallist.”
Canadian teams returning empty-handed from the Winter Olympics has prompted questions regarding each team’s preparations.
Hebert, a three-time Brier champion and two-time world champ, bristled when asked about Koe’s preparations for the Winter Olympics.
“We put in a lot of time and we prepared exactly the same for the Olympics as we did for the Olympic trials and we were outstanding,” Hebert said. “Curling Canada gave us all of the assets that we needed, with team leaders and doctors and everything else. ”