Homan and Morris to become listed on Gushue, Jones in Beijing

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Canada's Olympic styling groups become ultimately full

Rocks start traveling in Beijing in 20 time, however it grabbed until today for Canada to mention its best entry. John Morris and Rachel Homan will safeguard the mixed doubles gold medal that Morris acquired in 2018 with former teammate Kaitlyn Lawes.

Homan and Morris comprise among 16 groups that have been expected to vie for Canada's place during the Olympic competition from the national combined increases tests in Manitoba prior to the celebration was terminated finally thirty days. A Curling Canada-led panel spent the previous few days choosing which duo to transmit to Asia, evaluating factors including recent mixed-doubles performance in conjunction with worldwide success in old-fashioned straightening. Another fancy pairing during the working got reigning Scotties champ Kerri Einarson and 2014 Olympic men's room gold medallist Brad Jacobs. There seemed to be in addition considerable lobbying from members whom dedicate by themselves to mixed doubles and believe that should rely.

But, ultimately, skill claimed out. In the event that objective is always to submit the team making use of highest threshold, then the selection committee established throughout the most obvious choose. Morris, 43, is actually a proven Olympic musician exactly who obtained a men's silver medal given that next for Kevin before you take the combined increases concept with Lawes in 2018. The 32-year-old Homan is one of the most successful curlers actually ever, with three Scotties titles and some sort of title inside her trophy circumstances. And theirs is no shotgun relationship. Homan and Morris have actually played combined doubles along since 2015. Morris looked to Lawes four in years past after Homan won the Canadian women's tests, which generated this lady ineligible for Olympic combined increases due to the styling Canada coverage prohibiting anyone from competing in more than one curling event at the same video games.

In terms of Lawes, she's maneuvering to Beijing too as a part regarding the Jennifer Jones-skipped rink that acquired the Canadian women's trials in acquired the men's room. In Gushue and Jones, Canada are going to have an old Olympic gold medallist at skip in both on the traditional styling competitions in Beijing.

Now that we finally understand everybody who's playing for Canada, let us capture a simple go through the three Olympic straightening competitions and exactly what the Canadian teams become facing:

Initial, let's enjoyed the ease-of-use associated with Olympic straightening tournaments. All three occasions begin with a 10-team game robin, and also the leading four advance for the semifinals. The semifinal winners play for gold. The semifinal losers play for bronze. No web page playoffs, no weird triple-knockout brackets to understand. Effortless.

In 2018, whenever combined doubles made its Olympic introduction with an eight-team celebration, Morris and Lawes are a wrecking golf ball. After dropping their opener to Norway, they reeled down eight straight gains to simply take gold, such as a 10-3 demolition of Switzerland when you look at the final.

The silver-medal Swiss duo of Jenny Perret and Martin Rios become back once again for Beijing. Thus is the Norwegian pairing of Kristin Skaslien and Magnus Nedregotten, who were granted bronze after the man from the Russian staff that defeat all of them unsuccessful a doping test. Besides Homan, the only real different big-name skip active in the blended doubles tournament is fantastic Britain's Bruce Mouat, a two-time European men's champ exactly who got silver at the men's room planets last year.

A large storyline in Beijing would be Homan's make an effort to redeem by herself from a disastrous displaying for the women's celebration in 2018. Her personnel moved 4-5 and became the very first Canadian rink to overlook the playoffs within Olympics.

The blended increases event will get underway Feb. 2 at 7:05 a.m. ET, and Homan and Morris perform their unique earliest games that night at 8:05 p.m. ET vs. Great Britain. The semifinals are on the day of e may be the next day at 7:05 a.m. ET.

Canada furthermore flopped within this show in 2018, with Kevin Koe's personnel shedding in the semifinals to eventual winner John Shuster of the U.S. immediately after which acquiring troubled by Switzerland inside the bronze-medal video game. Before these Games, no Canadian straightening teams have ever didn't win a medal. In Pyeongchang, both conventional teams performed.

For Gushue, a large number has changed since he claimed his Olympic silver medal in Italy 16 in years past. Back then, he was a skilled though somewhat raw child exactly who tossed fourth stones but leaned in the popular Russ Howard to call games through the second situation (inside the recognized Olympic records, Howard was listed while the miss). Today Gushue is all adult - a 41-year-old grandfather of two that is totally in order of his create. He caught three Brier games from 2017-20 and some sort of championship in '17. Gushue got care of companies since the favourite in the Canadian trials in elizabeth on the way to beating Jacobs for the final.

Your competitors in Beijing should be difficult. It provides Shuster, Mouat and five-time globe winner Nik Edin of Sweden, that is trying to find his first Olympic gold after taking bronze in 2014 and sterling silver in '18. The tournament opens Feb. 8 at 7:05 a.m. ET, when Canada face Denmark. The semis include day of e is Feb. 18 at 1:05 a.m. ET.

Jennifer Jones is actually curling royalty - the champion of a record-tying six Scotties, a two-time community champ and an Olympic gold medallist in 2014. But the woman success at the Canadian trials ended up being somewhat of a shock. At 47, Jones got regarded as past her finest, and a lot of observers rated this lady behind Homan, Einarson additionally the red-hot Tracy Fleury. As expected, Jones shed to any or all of those in the round robin. Nevertheless when the chips are down she arrived through, trouncing Krista McCarville when you look at the semis before taking the ultimate from an undefeated Fleury in a supplementary end.

In Beijing, Jones shall be facing all three medallists from 2018: protecting champ Anna Hasselborg of Sweden, southern area Korea's Kim Eun-jung (silver) and Japan's Satsuki Fujisawa (bronze). Additionally the winner for the finally two community titles - Switzerland's Silvana Tirinzoni - and 2013 community champ Eve Muirhead of Great Britain, whom took Olympic bronze in 2014.