‘Cheating’ Canadian curlers on brink of Winter Olympics gold medal after nerve-shredding win over Norway
Canada’s under-fire men’s curling team is one win away from gold after surviving a semifinal scare against Norway on Thursday.
Marc Kennedy and Co have been hit with allegations of cheating during these Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, prompting worldwide scrutiny and even foul-mouth clashes with rivals.
In Thursday’s semifinal, Canada led Norway 4-2 heading into the 10th and final end, only for their rivals to send the game to an extra end.
But the Canadian team bounced back to secure a dramatic 5-4 win and secure a spot in the final, where Great Britain awaits.
Bruce Mouat, Bobby Lammie, Grant Hardie and Hammy McMillan beat Switzerland in the other semifinal.
Team Canada has been under the spotlight throughout these Games, most notably when Kennedy became embroiled in a stunning clash with Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson after repeatedly being accused of double-touching his deliveries.
Canada’s men’s curling team is one win away from a gold medal at the Winter Olympics
Team Canada secured a nerve-shredding 5-4 win over Norway in Thursday’s semifinal
Earlier in the Games, Sweden’s Oskar Eriksson (R) repeatedly accused Kennedy (L) of cheating
At one point, Kennedy erupted by shouting: ‘I haven’t done it once. You can f*** off.’
World Curling later confirmed that Kennedy had been issued with a verbal warning over his rant, with ‘further inappropriate behavior’ likely to ‘result in additional sanctions’.
On Thursday, however, the 44-year-old helped Canada write more positive headlines as they edged past Norway.
The Swiss had qualified for the knockouts in first place, while Team GB snuck through the round-robin, but on Thursday night, Mouat and Co secured an 8-5 victory to secure their spot in the final.
Britain is chasing a first male curling gold since 1924, while Canada won three consecutive titles between 2006 and 2014.
Brad Jacobs was part of the team that triumphed in Sochi and, 12 years on, he helped secure Canada’s place in the final once more.
They will go for gold despite Kennedy claiming the team have been caught in a premeditated trap by their rivals, who have continued to accuse them of unsportsmanlike behavior.
Kennedy in action during Thursday’s semifinal win over Norway in Cortina, Italy
Great Britain is also guaranteed a medal in the men’s curling after beating Switzerland
‘I can’t think of once in my entire career where I’ve done something to gain a competitive advantage by cheating. And I take that very seriously. And it’s been a really long career. So when you get called out, my instinct was to be a little bit of a bulldog,’ he said over the weekend.
‘I don’t regret defending myself or my teammates in that moment. I just probably regret the language I used.
‘They (Sweden) have come up with a plan here at the Olympics, as far as I know, to catch teams in the act.
‘It was planned right from the word go yesterday, from the words that were being said by their coaches and the way they were running to the officials. It was kind of evident that something was going on, and they were trying to catch us in an act.
‘I know we’re not the only team that they’ve done that to.’
Kennedy and Canadian coach Paul Webster accused Sweden of installing cameras to catch them cheating. Sweden responded by claiming that they had been raising concerns about Canada’s alleged cheating for seven or eight years.
The Swedish media also accused Team Canada of intentionally throwing a match to secure a more favorable route to the final.
