Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Manitoba won the 2024 HearingLife Tour Challenge in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island on Sunday. In an all-Canadian final, Einarson beat Ottawa’s Rachel Homan 5-4. This was the first Grand Slam of Curling event of the 2024-25 season, and the sixth grand slam title for Einarson.
Einarson had a different front end than what she is used to. Her lead was Krysten Karwacki of Winnipeg, and her second was Canadian Olympic gold medalist Dawn McEwen of Winnipeg. Karwacki was subbing in for Briane Harris. In February, Harris tested positive for Ligandrol, has been suspended for the doping violation, and is waiting a decision through the appeal process from the Court of Arbitration for Sport. McEwen was subbing in for Shannon Birchard, who is out with a knee injury. She was the lead for Team Canada when Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg won the gold medal at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.
In Charlottetown over the last week, Einarson lost her first game, 6-4 to Stefania Constantini of Italy. Einarson then had to go through the B side of the triple knockout tournament, where she beat American Delaney Strouse 7-4, Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg 7-1, and Winnipeg’s Kaitlyn Lawes 5-4. Einarson then beat Sweden’s Isabelle Wrana 6-1 in the quarterfinals and Satsuki Fujisawa of Japan 6-4 in the semifinals. In the final, Homan made two key mistakes in the sixth end. She flashed in attempting to remove the Einarson stones with her first throw, and was unable to keep her shooter in a takeout attempt with her second throw.
Einarson’s six grand slam titles have come over the last nine years. She also won the 2016 National in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, the 2019 Players’s Championship in Toronto, Ontario, the 2021 Players’s Championship in Calgary, Alberta, the 2022 Champions’s Cup in Olds, Alberta, and the 2022 Masters in Oakville, Ontario. McEwen, meanwhile, has now won 16 grand slam titles dating back to 2007.
