Curling at the 2006 Winter Olympics was held in the town of Pinerolo, Italy from February 13 to February 24. It proved to be the sleeper hit in terms of television ratings in Italy. According to a CBC feature, curling at the 2006 Winter Games drew 5 million viewers, eclipsing ice hockey and figure skating. This, and the success of the Italian men's curling team created a surge of interest in curling within Italy, where there was no previous tradition of the sport and only a few hundred players.
Summary Days before the 2006 Winter Games began, the IOC confirmed that the curling competition at the 1924 Winter Olympics was an official event, and not a demonstration event as many authoritative sources had previously claimed. However, the IOC itself had never done so. This official confirmation was the culmination of an investigative campaign begun by the Glasgow-based newspaper The Herald , on behalf of the families of the eight Scots who won the first curling Olympic gold medal in Chamonix, France in 1924. The winning team was selected by the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, Perth, the mother club of curling.
Defending champion skips Rhona Martin of Great Britain & Northern Ireland and Pål Trulsen of Norway returned to defend their gold medals. Joining Martin on the women's side were 2005 World champion Anette Norberg of Sweden, 2002 World Junior champion Cassandra Johnson of the United States of America, two-time world champion Dordi Nordby of Norway, 1996 European champion Mirjam Ott of Switzerland, 2004 Canadian Mixed champion Shannon Kleibrink of Canada, 2005 European Junior Challenge champion Ludmila Privivkova of Russia, three time Pacific Curling champion Ayumi Onodera of Japan, 1994 European champion Dorthe Holm of Denmark, and for the host country, 2003 World Junior bronze medalist Diana Gaspari from Italy.
Joining Trulsen on the men's side was 2001 World Junior Champion Brad Gushue of Canada with the help of two-time World champion Russ Howard calling the shots, former World Junior champion and European champion David Murdoch of Great Britain, two-time European champion Andy Kapp of Germany, 2000 European champion and 2005 European mixed champion Markku Uusipaavalniemi of Finland, 1993 World Championship bronze medalist Pete Fenson of the United States of America, 1997 World Junior champion Ralph Stöckli of Switzerland, three-time Pacific Curling champion Sean Becker of New Zealand, three-time World Champion Peja Lindholm of Sweden, and the host Italian team skipped by Joel Retornaz.
Fixtures and resultsWomen's: Teams - Standings - Schedule - Percentages - Final standings Draw 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Semi-finals - Bronze medal game - Gold medal gameMen's: Teams - Standings - Schedule - Percentages - Final standings Draw 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Semi-finals - Bronze medal game - Gold medal game Olympic qualifying External links
Men's
Men's tournament Medal Team
Teams NationSkipThirdSecondLeadAlternateClubBrad GushueMark NicholsRuss Howard*Jamie KorabMike AdamSt. John's CC, St. John'sMarkku UusipaavalniemiWille MäkeläKalle KiiskinenTeemu SaloJani SullanmaaOulunkylä Curling, HelsinkiAndy KappUli KappOliver AxnickHolger HöhneAndreas Kempf CC Füssen, FüssenDavid MurdochEwan MacDonaldWarwick SmithEuan ByersCraig WilsonLockerbie CC, LockerbieJoel RetornazFabio AlveraGian Paolo ZandegiacomoMarco MarianiAntonio MenardiCC Dolomiti, Cortina d'AmpezzoSean BeckerHans FrauenlobDan MustapicLorne De Pape Warren DobsonRanfurly CC, RanfurlyPål TrulsenLars VågbergFlemming DavangerBent Ånund RamsfjellTorger NergårdStabekk CC, OsloPeja LindholmTomas NordinMagnus SwartlingPeter Narup Anders KrauppÖstersunds CK, ÖstersundRalph StöckliClaudio PesciaPascal SieberMarco BattilanaSimon StrübinSt Galler Bär CC, ZürichPete FensonShawn RojeskiJoseph PoloJohn Shuster Scott BairdBemidji CC, Bemidji
* – Calls the game as a skip normally would × – The Olympics have recorded the skip as Russ Howard, however the team internally considers that Brad Gushue is skip. It is a team formed by Brad Gushue.
Standings
NationSkipWLPFPAEnds wonEnds lostBlank endsStolen endsShot pct. Markku Uusipaavalniemi 7 2 53 40 32 31 23 9 78% Brad Gushue 6 3 66 46 47 31 9 23 80% Pete Fenson 6 3 66 47 36 33 16 13 80% David Murdoch 6 3 59 49 36 31 17 12 81% Pål Trulsen 5 4 57 47 33 32 17 9 78% Ralph Stöckli 5 4 56 45 31 34 18 10 76% Joël Retornaz 4 5 47 66 37 38 10 7 70% Andy Kapp 3 6 53 55 34 34 17 12 77% Peja Lindholm 3 6 45 68 31 40 12 4 78% Sean Becker 0 9 37 76 28 41 12 6 69%
Schedule
Draw 1 - Monday, February 13, 0900 Note: in the following, the hammers denote the team that has the last stone in the first end.
Draw 2 - Monday, February 13, 1900
Draw 3 - Tuesday, February 14, 1400
Draw 4 - Wednesday, February 15, 0900
Draw 5 - Wednesday, February 15, 1900
Draw 6 - Thursday, February 16, 1400
Draw 7 - Friday, February 17, 0900
Draw 8 - Friday, February 17, 1900
Draw 9 - Saturday, February 18, 1400
Draw 10 - Sunday, February 19, 0900
Draw 11 - Sunday, February 19, 1900
Draw 12 - Monday, February 20, 1400
Semi-finals - Wednesday, February 22, 1900 1 vs. 4
In a close game, where both teams played extremely well, the game came down to the last rock of the tenth end. Finland (1) had the hammer, and skip Markku Uusipaavalniemi had to put a rock right on the button to win the game. It was either that or a difficult hit and roll off a British (4) rock in the four-foot frozen to a Finnish rock. British skip David Murdoch had an excellent raise hit and roll to make the freeze on his last rock, but it was no match for Markku's draw—giving Finland the win.
Player percentagesTeemu Salo 84% Euan Byers 89%Kalle Kiiskinen 94% Warwick Smith 89%Wille Mäkelä 78% Ewan MacDonald 89%Markku Uusipaavalniemi 88% David Murdoch 80%Total 86% Total 87%
2 vs. 3
In the other semi-final, Canada (2) outplayed the Americans (3) for most of the game propelling them to victory. The Americans kept it close for most of the game, always within a few points until the ninth end. With Canada having the hammer, USA skip Pete Fenson had a difficult draw to beat out four Canadian stones and get buried but half of the rock was left out in the open. Canada's skip Brad Gushue peeled off Fenson's rock on his last, giving Gushue five points, at which point the American team conceded.
Player percentagesJamie Korab 71% John Shuster 79%Russ Howard 82% Joseph Polo 79%Mark Nichols 94% Shawn Rojeski 63%Brad Gushue 83% Pete Fenson 79%Total 82% Total 75%
Bronze medal game - Friday, February 24, 1300 US skip Pete Fenson got the victory after hitting a British stone in the open on his last shot of the game, giving him the only point he needed in the 8–6 victory. The momentum for the Americans began in the third end however, when the Americans scored a three-ender. David Murdoch, the British skip tried to draw to the button on top of two American stones, but was a few inches short, leaving the rock in the open. It was easily tapped out by Fenson giving the Americans three points, and they never trailed after that point, going on to win the country's first Olympic curling medal. The game was interrupted by a streaker wearing a rubber chicken, prompting one of the British players to joke, "Are you Scottish?"
Player percentagesEuan Byers 94% John Shuster 75%Warwick Smith 85% Joseph Polo 95%Ewan MacDonald 88% Shawn Rojeski 94%David Murdoch 79% Pete Fenson 83%Total 86% Total 87%
Gold medal game - Friday, February 24, 1730
After Finland skip Markku Uusipaavalniemi missed an opportunity with the hammer in the 1st end, scoring only two points instead of three (0-2), Canada dominated and scored two points with the hammer in the 2nd end (2-2) before stealing the next two ends with a point in each (4-2). Finland finally won a point with the hammer in the 5th end to reduce the deficit (4-3), but numerous Finnish mistakes led to Canada's scoring six points in the 6th end (10-3), which effectively won the match and secured the gold medal. Brad Gushue of Canada actually had the chance to score an unusual seventh point with the hammer, but his draw shot had too much weight and together with some furious sweeping at the house by the Finland skip, it passed through the house. As it is, six is very unusual as well, and Gushue blamed the miss on nerves.
However, Gushue's miss was of little consequence due to Canada's lead. By this time, Finland wanted to concede, but had to carry on until the 8th end before being allowed to do so. They finished 10–4 with no points in the 7th end and one point in the 8th end. It was Canada's first gold medal in men's curling after winning silver at Nagano in 1998 and Salt Lake City in 2002. School children in Newfoundland and Labrador, where four of the five Canadians are from, had the afternoon off from school to watch the game. Those four Newfoundlanders were the first to ever win a gold medal at the Olympics. Mark Nichols, Canada's third, played phenomenally with a 97% shooting percentage. His raise-triple take-out in the sixth end was a major factor in Canada's scoring the six-point rarity.
Player percentagesJamie Korab 88% Teemu Salo 86%Russ Howard 75% Kalle Kiiskinen 80%Mark Nichols 97% Wille Mäkelä 53%Brad Gushue 72% Markku Uusipaavalniemi 57%Total 83% Total 69%
Round robin final player percentages Minimum 6 games. Five best players from each position
LeadNation %Euan Byers 84Holger Höhne 83Jamie Korab 83Bent Ånund Ramsfjell 83Peter Narup 82
SecondNation %Warwick Smith 85Magnus Swartling 81Joe Polo 80Russ Howard 79Oliver Axnick 76Flemming Davanger 76
ThirdNation %Shawn Rojeski 83Uli Kapp 80Ewan MacDonald 78Wille Mäkelä 78Mark Nichols 77
SkipNation %Markku Uusipaavalniemi 81Brad Gushue 77Ralph Stöckli 77Pål Trulsen 77David Murdoch 76
Final standings RankCountrySkipWL CanadaBrad Gushue83 FinlandMarkku Uusipaavalniemi83 United StatesPete Fenson744 Great BritainDavid Murdoch655 NorwayPål Trulsen545 SwitzerlandRalph Stöckli547 ItalyJoël Retornaz458 GermanyAndy Kapp369 SwedenPeja Lindholm3610 New ZealandSean Becker09
Women's
Women's tournament Medal Team
Teams NationSkipThirdSecondLeadAlternateClubShannon KleibrinkAmy NixonGlenys BakkerChristine KeshenSandra JenkinsCalgary Winter Club, CalgaryDorthe HolmDenise DupontLene NielsenMalene KrauseMaria PoulsenHvidovre CC, HvidovreRhona MartinJackie LockhartKelly WoodLynn CameronDeborah KnoxGreenacres CC, HowwoodDiana GaspariGiulia LacedelliRosa PompaninVioletta CaldartEleonora AlveraNew Wave CC, Cortina d'AmpezzoAyumi OnoderaYumie HayashiMari MotohashiMoe MeguroSakurako TeradaAomori CC, AomoriDordi NordbyMarianne HaslumMarianne RørvikCamilla HolthCharlotte HovringSnarøen CC, BærumLudmila PrivivkovaNkeiruka EzekhOlga JarkovaEkaterina GalkinaYana NekrasovaСombined teamAnette NorbergEva LundCathrine LindahlAnna SvärdUlrika BergmanHärnösands CK HärnösandMirjam OttBinia BeeliValeria SpältyMichèle Moser Manuela KormannFlims CC, FlimsCassandra JohnsonJamie JohnsonJessica SchultzMaureen BruntCourtney GeorgeBemidji CC, Bemidji
Standings NationSkipWLPFPAEnds wonEnds lostBlank endsStolen endsShot pct. Anette Norberg 7 2 61 54 41 36 14 11 79% Mirjam Ott 7 2 74 44 37 32 11 10 75% Shannon Kleibrink 6 3 68 51 39 32 16 10 75% Dordi Nordby 6 3 73 54 45 32 5 16 73% Rhona Martin 5 4 55 54 31 35 17 6 76% Ludmila Privivkova 5 4 57 60 41 36 14 11 77% Ayumi Onodera 4 5 53 59 36 35 16 11 72% Cassandra Johnson 2 7 58 66 34 38 11 9 73% Dorthe Holm 2 7 47 69 27 42 12 3 72% Diana Gaspari 1 8 44 79 33 43 9 4 66%
Schedule
Draw 1 - Monday, February 13, 1400 Note: hammers denote the team that had the last stone in the first end.
Draw 2 - Tuesday, February 14, 0900
Draw 3 - Tuesday, February 14, 1900
Draw 4 - Wednesday, February 15, 1400
Draw 5 - Thursday, February 16, 0900
Draw 6 - Thursday, February 16, 1900
Draw 7 - Friday, February 17, 1400
Draw 8 - Saturday, February 18, 0900
Draw 9 - Saturday, February 18, 1900
Draw 10 - Sunday, February 19, 1400
Draw 11 - Monday, February 20, 0900