Beaverlodge’s Geoff Walker and Team Gushue have won back-to-back gold medals at the Pan Continental Curling Championship, securing Canada a spot at the 2024 World Championship.
The Canadian team’s 8-3 win over South Korea made them the first team to ever win back-to-back championships at the competition and kept Canada as the only team to wear gold in the men’s competition. Skip Brad Gushue says the honour is something he and the rest of his team are proud of, adding that timing was crucial for their success at the international competition.
“Knowing when to go for it and when not to go for it, and having a good feel for the game,” Gushue says. “[Vice-skip] Mark [Nichols] and I have been at this now for 30 years. I think those guys will get that experience the more they play. That experience and playing in big games like that, you learn in those moments. Even if you don’t have the best game, you can sometimes make it happen and get the win.”
Though winning gold secured Team Canada’s a spot at the World Championships, it did not secure Team Gushue’s spot, as they will need to come out on top during the 2024 Montana’s Brier in Regina, another event in which they are the reigning champions.