Canadian Olympic gold medalist Brad Gushue of St. John’s, Newfoundland won the 2022 Tim Hortons Brier from Lethbridge, Alberta on Sunday. Gushue, who was representing the first ranked Wildcard team, defeated Team Alberta’s Kevin Koe of Calgary, Alberta 9-8 in the championship game in 11 ends.
It was one of two games Gushue won on Sunday. In the semifinal, Gushue defeated another Alberta-based team in Brendan Bottcher of Edmonton, Alberta, 9-3.
Gushue previously won the Brier in 2017 in St. John’s, Newfoundland representing his home province of Newfoundland, in 2018 in Regina, Saskatchewan, representing Team Canada as the defending champion, and in 2020 in Kingston, Ontario, representing Team Newfoundland. Gushue also won the gold medal for Canada at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, and the 2017 World Men’s Curling Championship in Edmonton.
Gushue’s Brier title on Sunday was the first time a Wildcard team had ever won the Brier. Gushue’s victory was unique as he only had three players on the ice in the playoff games. Gushue was joined by second Brett Gallant, and lead Geoff Walker. Gushue’s third and fellow Olympic gold medalist Mark Nichols missed the playoff games because he tested positive for coronavirus on Friday, and was subsequently quarantined. With the win in Lethbridge on Sunday, Gushue’s team will represent Canada at the 2022 World Men’s Curling Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada from April 2-10, 2022.
