What to watch this weekend in Olympic sports
The Brier, speed skating's World Cup finale and more
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What to watch this weekend in Olympic sports
A few things for Canadian fans to keep an eye on:
Curling: The Brier is up for grabs
Unlike the Scotties Tournament of Hearts, where Rachel Homan went undefeated for the second straight year, the Canadian men's curling championship looks wide open ahead of the opening draw tonight in Kelowna, B.C.
Yes, Brad Gushue has won three straight Briers, four in the past five years, and a record six in his career. But he's 44 now and his St. John's-based team has struggled of late, going 2-7 in the last two Grand Slams, including 0-4 in the most recent one. Gushue's decision in October to drop powerful sweeper E.J. Harnden in favour of 2021 Brier-winning skip Brendan Bottcher does not seem to be paying off at the moment.
Among those looking to dethrone Gushue is Alberta's Brad Jacobs, who skipped Northern Ontario to the Brier title in 2013 and won Olympic gold the next year. Jacobs is now playing with Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert — Bottcher's former teammates. Manitoba's Matt Dunstone (who picked up Harnden after his split with Team Gushue), Saskatchewan's Mike McEwen and Northern Ontario's John Epping are the other top challengers.
The Brier winner will represent Canada at the men's world championship in Moose Jaw, Sask., and might be considered the early favourite to win the Canadian Olympic trials next fall.
If you missed yesterday's newsletter, here's our Brier preview.
Speed skating: Dubreuil looks to finish strong
The long track World Cup tour wraps up this weekend in the Netherlands, where skaters will also be gearing up for the world single-distances championships in Norway in two weeks.
The top-ranked Canadian is Laurent Dubreuil, who remained second in the men's 500m standings after finishing sixth today. Dubreuil had reached the podium in four straight 500m races after recovering from a groin injury, earning two bronze medals in Milwaukee a month ago before upgrading to a pair of silvers last week in Poland. There's another 500m race coming up on Sunday.
American star Jordan Stolz placed second in today's 500m to Dutchman Jenning De Boo, but is still going to win the season-long title because he has a huge lead in the standings. Stolz wrapped up the 1,500m title today with a fifth-place finish — his first loss in six races at that distance this season.
WATCH | CBC Sports previews what to watch over the weekend:
Nordic worlds: Canadian ski jumpers buzz the podium
Cross-country skiing anchors the Nordic worlds program over the next 10 days in Norway, but Canada's best medal hopes are in women's ski jumping.
Because the worlds are held every two years, Alex Loutitt is still the defending world champion in the women's large hill event after winning the title in 2023 at the age of 19. She has one gold and one bronze on the World Cup tour this season, bringing her career tally to 10 medals, including a pair of gold.
Abi Strate soared to her fifth career World Cup podium last week in Austria, taking bronze for her first medal of the season. The 24-year-old beekeeper competed with Loutitt on the Canadian team that won Olympic bronze in the mixed event in 2022.
Loutitt and Strate both came close to the podium in today's normal hill event, tying for fifth place. The large hill goes next week. Here's more on Canada's top two ski jumpers.
Other stuff to know about:
Canada's Mikaël Kingsbury earned his 97th career World Cup victory today in Kazakhstan to clinch the men's moguls season title and extend his lead in the overall standings with one more meet left. Kingsbury, who has seven golds and three silvers in 13 starts this season, will compete in the dual moguls on Saturday as he tries to add that title to his vast collection. The season finale is in two weeks in Italy.
India Sherret took over the women's ski cross World Cup lead from Canadian teammate Marielle Thompson after grabbing bronze in today's event in Georgia. Thompson had the fastest qualifying time yesterday but was unable to race today due to an injury, dropping her to second place in the season-long standings. Reece Howden remained third in the men's chase despite failing to get past the first round today. Another set of men's and women's events goes Saturday.
Canadian snowboard cross star Éliot Grondin placed first in qualifying today for a men's event in Turkey. The World Cup leader goes for his third win in five starts on Saturday, and there's a team competition on Sunday.
Canadian shot putter Sarah Mitton placed second to American rival Chase Jackson at today's World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meet in Madrid. Jackson and Mitton took gold and silver, respectively, at the 2023 world championships before Mitton won the indoor world title last year.
WATCH | Mitton finishes 2nd in shot put:
Olympic mixed doubles tennis bronze medallist Felix Auger-Aliassime will play for his third singles title of the year on Saturday in Dubai. The 21st-ranked Canadian defeated French qualifier Quentin Halys in the semifinals today to advance to the championship match against 11th-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece. Canada's Denis Shapovalov, who won the Dallas Open last month for his third career ATP Tour title, plays in the semifinals of the Mexican Open tonight.
