Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Jennifer Jones didn't talk about her clutch deuce, the $40,000 winner's cheque or a trip next month to the world mixed curling doubles championship in Gangneung, South Korea.
Instead, moments after she and Brent Laing won the Canadian mixed doubles curling championship at Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex, Jones was thrilled to give her partner a hug "right after the game instead of waiting those five minutes to get down to the ice through the crowd."
Like her Horseshoe Valley, Ont., team's strategy and details in the final against Jocelyn Peterman and Brent Gallant of Chestermere, Alta., it was the little things that mattered most.
"We are getting towards the tail end of our careers, so it's going to be a special memory that we'll cherish forever, to be Team Canada together, to share these moments together," said Jones, a six-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts winner to go along her two world championships, her 2014 Olympic gold medal and a Canadian junior championship. "Even winning this felt great."
With a combined 12 Canadian curling championships, seven world titles and an Olympic gold medal between them, it's difficult to believe that something was missing from the trophy cabinet at the household of Jones and Laing.
But Sunday before a thoroughly packed house in Sudbury, Jones and Laing capped a masterful performance at the 2023 Canadian mixed doubles curling championship to add yet another national gold medal, and their first as teammates.
It was a nail-biter to the end, with the teams tied 4-4 heading into the eighth and Jones-Laing holding the hammer. After Peterman half-buried her final shot behind a corner guard, Jones was able to play a hack-weight tap to remove the shot rock and score five for the win, and celebrated as the cheers of the crowd rained down on them.
The teams scored nothing but single points for five ends -- the fifth being a steal for Peterman and Gallant.
But in the sixth, the door opened for Jones to make an open hit with a small roll to score the game's first (and ultimately game-changing) deuce.
"It was disappointing to give up the steal (in the fifth) because I missed my first shot that end and it got us in a bit of trouble," said Jones. "But we said before the fifth end whoever gets the first deuce is likely going to win, and we managed to get the first deuce.
"It was a really good game; the score wasn't indicative of the amount of rocks in play, that's for sure."
"I know if (Jones) has a shot for two, we're probably going to get two," added Laing. "It was a well-played game; Brett and Jocelyn didn't miss for a while, and in the second half it was kind of back and forth. It was a fun game to play."
Jones and Laing collected $40,000 for their victory, while Peterman and Gallant earned $20,000.
Jones and Laing reached the final with a 6-5 semifinal win Sunday morning over Rachel Homan of Beaumont, Alta., and Tyler Tardi of Peachland, B.C., while Peterman and Gallant were 7-6 winners over Brittany Tran of Calgary and Aaron Sluchinski of Airdrie, Alta. The semifinal losers each pocketed $12,500.
Jones and Laing will now start planning their return trips to the Gangneung Curling Centre -- a building both have played in. Jones skipped Team Canada to a fourth-place finish at the 2009 World Women's Curling Championship there, while Laing was a member of Kevin Koe's Canadian Olympic men's team that finished fourth at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Canada's national mixed doubles coach Scott Pfeifer was the alternate for Team Koe in 2018.
"It'll be great to go back there," added Jones. "At the end of the day we just want to go and play well and have fun. I can tell everybody in Canada that we're never going to quit and we're going to try our very hardest to stand on that podium."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 26, 2023.
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.