Winter Olympics: Canada beats Britain to get gold in men’s curling final

Team Canada’s Tyler Tardi, Ben Herbert, Brett Gallant, Marc Kennedy and Brad Jacobs celebrate winning a gold medal after defeating Team Great Britain in men's curling at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Italy on Saturday, February 21, 2026.

Brad Jacobs skipped the Canadian men’s curling team to a gold medal on Saturday at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

His Calgary-based team of Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert defeated Great Britain’s Bruce Mouat 9-6 in the final at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.

Jacobs scored three points in the ninth end and stole a point in the 10th when Mouat’s final shot to force an extra end was slightly wide.

It was a back-and-forth battle between two of the best teams in the world on the sport’s biggest stage.

Great Britain missed a couple of double-takeouts in the ninth end and then bumped a freeze attempt. That allowed Jacobs to pick out the opposing stone near the button to take a two-point lead.

Up 8-6 in the 10th end, Jacobs made a big-weight hit with his final throw — with just 7.2 seconds left on the clock — to force Mouat to make a tricky shot to score two to tie.

When Great Britain’s rock overcurled, Canada scored a single and the celebration was on. Brooms flew in the air and the players and coaches hugged by the bench.

The Canadians walked over to a section of friends, family and supporters to share the moment. Kennedy hopped on the boards with his arms extended in the air, and Jacobs joined him as he held the Canadian flag with outstretched arms.

It felt like a road game for the Canadian team as the near-capacity crowd was strongly pro-Mouat.

The young team from Scotland was boosted by their sections of chanting, flag-waving supporters, who would frequently bang their feet on the grandstands.

Canada opened with hammer, but it was wrested away with an early force. Mouat made a draw for a deuce in the second end and Jacobs answered with a pair of his own.

The top-ranked Mouat made a mistake in the fourth end when he ticked a guard and rolled out of the rings. Jacobs, who rose to No. 2 in the world with the win — had a chance to set up a steal, but his draw was heavy. Great Britain was able to hit for one.

Jacobs made an error when he tried to blank the fifth end with a double-takeout but he hit the rock on the nose for one.

Canada controlled the sixth end but still gave Mouat a chance for a cross-house double-takeout. He nailed it as his teammates pumped their fists in the air and the crowd roared.

There was little room for slight mistakes against Mouat’s side of Grant Hardie, Bobby Lammie and Hammy McMillan.

When Kennedy’s runback in the seventh left a Great Britain stone biting the 12-foot ring, Mouat made a great come-around that forced the Canadians to one.

Jacobs forced right back in the eighth as Mouat took a 6-5 lead.

When Mouat’s freeze attempt in the ninth slightly bumped the stone near the button, Lammie couldn’t hide his frustration. He swiped at his broomhead and sent the pad flying onto the other sheet.

The teams were joined by bronze medallist Yannick Schwaller and his Swiss team at the medal ceremony.

It was the second straight Olympic silver for Mouat’s foursome. Great Britain lost to Sweden’s Niklas Edin in the 2022 final in Beijing.

Gallant won bronze with skip Brad Gushue that year. Jacobs skipped a different team to an Olympic title in 2014 at Sochi, Russia.

Hebert and Kennedy won gold with skip Kevin Martin at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 21, 2026.