Canada’s Jacobs beats Great Britain’s Mouat 9-6 to win Olympic men’s curling gold

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO – The body shots over the last week didn’t weaken the Canadian men’s curling team. It merely primed them to deliver a knockout blow.

Brad Jacobs, Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert won Olympic gold on Saturday night and they knocked off the world’s top-ranked team to do it. 

Canada scored three points in the ninth end and stole a single in the 10th for a 9-6 win over Great Britain’s Bruce Mouat at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. 

“What we had to go through this week I think would have crippled about 98 per cent of people and crumbled about 98 per cent of curling teams,” Jacobs said. “And so to be able to work through that, persevere, and have one another’s backs among everything that was going on is very special.

“It really goes to show how tough we are as athletes.”

The Canadians overcame the heavy distraction of a “double-touching” controversy early in the competition to write their own story.

They did it by relying on what got them here: teamwork, precision shotmaking and the ability to step up when it matters most. 

All four players entered play with Olympic experience and it showed. They were ready for the unexpected, including a viral moment of Kennedy swearing at Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson that led to a storyline that lasted several days.  

“I am a big believer in the curling gods and things happening for a reason,” Jacobs said. “I think what you saw happen here today was the curling gods helping us out and being on our side.”

Eriksson felt the Canadians were touching the stone a second time after the handle was released. Kennedy bristled at the accusation and tossed in a couple F-bombs for good measure. 

Curlers are mic’d up during games and with no delay on the broadcast, the discussion went live to air. 

The next day, World Curling issued a statement to clarify that curlers cannot touch the granite after releasing the rock’s handle.

Athletes usually sort out disagreements on the ice but umpires can be called in if needed. World Curling changed its setup the next day, however, by asking umpires to monitor hog lines more closely. 

The controversy took off last weekend when umpires pulled two rocks from games due to apparent double-touching. The sport’s governing body later backtracked.

Kennedy still became an online sensation and the subject remained a talking point. 

“A weaker team would have fell flat on their face and we didn’t,” he said. “We rose above all of it and stood on the top of the podium as a group. I’m incredibly proud of everybody around me.”

The Canadians beat Sweden en route to a 7-2 round-robin record, giving them the second seed in the four-team playoffs. A semifinal victory over Norway’s Magnus Ramsfjell set up a showdown of two teams who are now 1-2 in the world rankings. 

Both sides tested the other in an exciting back-and-forth battle that finally turned in the ninth end.

Great Britain missed a couple of double-takeouts before bumping a rock on a freeze attempt. That allowed Jacobs to pick out the opposing stone near the button for three points. 

Up 8-6 in the 10th end, Jacobs made a big-weight hit — with just 7.2 seconds left on the clock — to force Mouat to make a tricky shot to score two to tie.

Mouat, who was also dealing with clock pressure, was slightly wide and the Canadian celebration was on. Brooms flew in the air and the players and coaches hugged by the bench. 

The Canadians hopped on the boards by a section of friends, family and supporters to share the moment. Kennedy triumphantly extended his arms in the air and Jacobs stood beside him with the Maple Leaf in tow. 

“I can’t wait to watch the game again, because I was under the table half the time just hoping, looking for some juju,” said Canadian coach Paul Webster.

It felt like a road game for the Canadian team as the near-capacity crowd was strongly pro-Mouat. The young team from Scotland was boosted by sections of chanting, flag-waving supporters, who would frequently bang their feet on the grandstands.

It was the second straight Olympic silver for Mouat’s side of Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan. They dropped the 2022 title game to Sweden’s Niklas Edin in Beijing. 

“It’s something that’s very disappointing, but that is what it comes down to against a top team like Team Jacobs,” Hardie said. “It’s fine moments.”

The teams were joined by bronze medallist Yannick Schwaller and his Swiss team at the medal ceremony.

Gallant won Olympic bronze with skip Brad Gushue in 2022. Hebert and Kennedy won gold with skip Kevin Martin at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

Earlier Saturday, Rachel Homan led her Ottawa-based team to a bronze medal in the women’s team competition.

It was the first time two Canadian curling teams have reached the Olympic podium at the same Games since 2014. Jennifer Jones won women’s gold that year in Sochi, Russia and Jacobs took the men’s crown with a different team. 

For the veteran skip, both victories were special in their own way.

“With everything that we went through, I think that this is the most deserving win I’ve ever felt in my entire life,” Jacobs said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2026.