02/11/26 04:09:00
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02/11 16:07 CST Canada starts men's Olympic curling competition with extra-end
win
Canada starts men's Olympic curling competition with extra-end win
By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) --- Curling powerhouse Canada began its bid to
reclaim the men's title at the Winter Olympics by needing an extra end to beat
Germany 7-6 on Wednesday.
Canada skip Brad Jacobs returned to the Olympic stage for the first time since
leading the team to men's gold in Sochi in 2014 and was faced with a pressure
shot to clinch victory on the opening night of round-robin play.
Jacobs made it perfectly, nudging a German stone out of the house and leaving
his own in the button for the decisive point.
"It's been a long time for me --- I'm cherishing every moment of this," Jacobs
said. "This is spectacular."
Germany made a two-point play off the final shot of the 10th end to tie the
score at 6-6 and take the match to an extra end.
It was the final match left on the ice, with Italy having wrapped up a 7-6 win
over defending champion Sweden to a backdrop of fervent home support inside the
Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.
In other matches, Britain beat China 9-4 with an end to spare and the United
States beat Czechia 8-7.
Canada, the sport's stronghold, is under some heat heading into the men's and
women's events after the mixed doubles team failed to reach the semifinals in
Cortina.
The world has caught up with Canadian curling over the past decade, meaning the
men's team's last Olympic medal was under Jacobs 12 years ago.
Since then, the U.S. and Sweden have won men's gold --- with Canada winning
just one bronze in that time.
"People need to understand how difficult international curling is these days,"
said Marc Kennedy, Jacobs' teammate. "These teams are good, these players have
been around a long time. A lot of them come to Canada, work on their game, and
they are as good or better than most of our Canadian teams.
"That expectation of winning a medal every time, it's gone. It's a tough battle
out there."
The women's competition starts on Thursday.
Sweden won the mixed doubles, beating the United States in the final on Tuesday.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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