In a moment destined to live forever in Canadian curling lore, Regina’s own Ben Hebert is an Olympic champion once again.
The veteran lead, competing as part of Brad Jacobs’s Canadian foursome, helped deliver a dramatic 9–6 win over Bruce Mouat and top-ranked Great Britain in the men’s gold medal game — a performance defined by patience, precision, and a late surge that left the curling world buzzing.
And for a kid from Regina’s rinks, it was the kind of clutch, blue-collar day that has long defined Hebert’s career.
The Canadians opened with hammer but were forced to a single in the first end — a tactical win for Great Britain, who quickly capitalized. In the second, Mouat’s rink applied pressure and came away with a deuce to seize a 2–1 lead.
But as he’s done countless times since his junior days in Regina, Hebert set the tone with relentless brushing and rock placement that helped Jacobs’ team settle into a groove. Canada answered with a pair in the third to retake the lead 3–2.
A series of big-shot exchanges followed. The Canadians executed brilliantly in the fourth to force Great Britain to a single, and even when a blank attempt in the fifth over-curled, leaving the shooter in the rings, Canada still carried a 4–3 edge into the break — hammer gone, confidence intact.
Great Britain struck for two in the sixth to go up 5–4, but singles exchanged in the seventh and eighth kept things tight heading into the home stretch.
Then came the ninth end, the turning point.
Great Britain missed three consecutive doubles, and Canada pounced, stringing together a clinical sequence to score three and surge ahead 8–6. It was the door Canada needed, and they kicked it open with authority.
Facing a desperate British squad chasing three in the tenth, Jacobs delivered two world-class doubles, the second a gorgeous raise double that brought the Canadian bench to its feet.
That left Mouat a razor-thin double of his own, needing both the make and the stick. Instead, the attempt jammed on a Canadian rock sitting snugly in the 12-foot.
Canada stole one. The scoreboard flashed 9–6. And just like that, the red and white had its first Olympic curling gold since 2014.
