Calvert’s crew on top of world
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/03/2015 (4108 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Braden Calvert played his best on the biggest stage on Sunday and was rewarded with a world junior curling championship.
The 19-year-old from Carberry and his Winnipeg-based team of Kyle Kurz, Lucas Van Den Bosch, Brendan Wilson and alternate Colton Lott beat Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller 6-3 in Sunday’s final in Tallinn, Estonia.
“It’s just unbelievable. When you start the season, you never quite picture that it’s going to end up like this,” Calvert said to Curling Canada. “It’s pretty special to not only bring home a medal, but a gold medal. It’s just icing on the cake.”
Calvert and company did exactly what they wanted in the final. After blanking an open first end, they took advantage of an attempted double takeout that jammed to split the house and score a deuce. Romano Meier, who throws skip stones for Switzerland, slid tight and wrecked on a guard in the fourth to give Calvert a steal of one and a 3-0 lead, and the Canadians played a textbook sixth end to steal another point and hold a 4-0 advantage.
After giving up one in the seventh, Calvert had an open draw to the house for two in the eighth before giving it back in the ninth. The Canadian skip, who’s an agriculture student at the University of Manitoba, made a double takeout to run the Swiss out of stones in the 10th.
Calvert kept the game plan simple and his teammates didn’t miss much. Calvert shot 88 per cent in the game, while Kurz finished at 89 per cent, Van Den Bosch shot 93 per cent and Wilson finished at 96 per cent.
The team was motivated after placing fourth at last year’s worlds, and they did not disappoint this time around.
“We just beared down and worked a little bit harder going into this season,” Calvert told Curling Canada. “We threw a ton of rocks in Winnipeg and it really shows when you get out here."
Calvert’s crew is the first Canadian team to win a world junior men’s curling title since Brendan Bottcher in 2012. It’s the 18th junior men’s title for Canada since the event was created in 1975.
Calvert is scheduled to return to Manitoba tonight.
Meanwhile, the Canadian women’s team, skipped by Alberta’s Kelsey Rocque, defended their world junior title with an 8-2 win over Scotland’s Gina Aitken in Sunday’s final.
“It’s really exciting (to win the gold medal) and bring it home to Canada,” Rocque said to Curling Canada. “There’s honestly no words.”
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