Gushue rink returns home with Olympic bronze around their necks
Supporters fill the lobby at St. John's International Airport
The Gushue curling rink has landed in St. John's, carrying with them items that customs officials don't see every day — Olympic medals.
The team's bronzes are the second medals for team skip Brad Gushue and third Mark Nichols, who both brought home curling gold from the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
The Beijing Games were the first Olympic appearances for Brett Gallant and Geoff Walker, while alternate Marc Kennedy marked his third. Walker flew home to Alberta to visit family and was not on the ground in St. John's on Tuesday.
"It feels great. The last six, seven weeks have been quite an adventure for our team, but it's always great to come home to see our kids and our wives," Gushue told reporters inside the St. John's International Airport.
The squad battled its way into medal contention in round-robin play before dropping its semi-final match against Sweden 5-3.
Canada went on to beat the United States 8-5 in the bronze medal game, while Sweden would ultimately win gold.
"I don't know if it was necessarily harder, it was just much different. Much, much different," said Gushue.
"Just with the whole pandemic, and us having to isolate before this made it a little bit more of a challenge and I think all of us started to miss home and miss our families," he said.
About 100 people were in the airport lobby on Tuesday afternoon to welcome the squad back to the Rock.
Among them were family, friends and fans with homemade signs, there to show their support for the world's No. 3-ranked men's curling team.
"I was like, 'Oh my God, I'm going to have to cry again,'" Gushue said in reaction to the crowd.
"There's been a lot of tears shed in the last four or five days, ever since the semi-final game. To see the family tear up, I started to tear up. It's been a long journey — 16 years — to get this opportunity again."
Lots of family, friends, and supporters of <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamGushue?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TeamGushue</a> to welcome back the 2022 bronze medal winners <a href="https://t.co/K4OOhvVs1E">pic.twitter.com/K4OOhvVs1E</a>
—@Jeremy_EatonGushue said one of the biggest challenges this time around was the lack of fans in the stands and the lack of on-site support from family members who would normally make the trip.
He said phone calls and FaceTime had to make up for that, but the energy and support was lower by not having them there in person.
The Gushue rink will get to enjoy only a few days at home before shipping off to the 2022 Tim Hortons Brier in Lethbridge, Alta., which starts March 4.