John Epping of Toronto, Ontario, had the fortune of beating two skips that have won an Olympic gold medal on the same day at the 2019 Canada Cup of Curling in Leduc, Alberta on Thursday. First, Epping beat Brad Gushue of St. John’s, Newfoundland 6-4 in the afternoon, and then he beat Brad Jacobs of Sault. Ste. Marie, Ontario 9-4 in the evening. Gushue won the gold medal for Canada at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin and Jacobs won the gold medal for Canada at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.
Epping is currently in a three-way tie for first place in the men’s standings. Brendan Bottcher of Edmonton, Alberta and Kevin Koe of Calgary, Alberta are also at 3-1. Koe beat Bottcher 5-3 in the all-Alberta matchup on Thursday evening.
On the women’s side, there is a two-way tie for first place. Tracy Fleury of Winnipeg, Manitoba and Rachel Homan of Ottawa, Ontario both have identical records of three wins and one loss. Homan beat Fleury 10-7 on Thursday morning.
The top three teams from the men’s and women’s round robin play advance to the playoffs, with the first place team going directly to the final. The winner of the 2019 Canada Cup of Curling will go to the 2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The winner of the trials will represent Canada at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.
