Brad Jacobs (curler)

Brad Jacobs
Curler
Born	(1985-06-11) June 11, 1985 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Team
Curling club	Community First CC, Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Skip	Brad Jacobs
Third	Ryan Fry
Second	E. J. Harnden
Lead	Ryan Harnden
Alternate	Lee Toner
Career
Brier appearances	8 (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016)
World Championship appearances	1 (2013)
Top CTRS ranking	1st (2013–14)
Grand Slam victories	1 (2015 Players' Championship)
Medal record Men's curling Representing  Canada Olympic Games 2014 Sochi World Championships 2013 Victoria Representing  Northern Ontario Canadian Olympic Curling Trials 2013 Winnipeg Tim Hortons Brier 2013 Edmonton 2015 Calgary 2010 Halifax 2016 Ottawa

Brad Jacobs (born June 11, 1985) is a Canadian curler from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. He is the current men's Olympic champion skip, having led Canada to a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Jacobs is also the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier championship skip and the 2013 World Championship runner-up. He is a five-time Northern Ontario provincial champion, and one time provincial junior champion.

Jacobs and his team are well known for their physical fitness.^[1] They have been described as "fitness freaks" and are "embracing curling's athletic evolution as much or more than any other team".^[2]

Career

Junior career

Jacobs began curling at age ten with a coach named Tom Coulterman in 1995. Coulterman saw potential in them and formed a team, Jacobs played third for Ryan Harnden and was also joined by Matt Premo and Scott Sabrook. As Jacobs entered high school, he entered competitive curling and took it seriously. He played second for Harnden in tournaments age 16 and under and played second for E. J. Harnden on the highschool team. In the fall, they formed a team together with E.J. as skip, Harnden as second, and Jacobs threw lead stones. They came third in the tournament. By Fall 2001, they added Caleb Flaxey at third. They were starting to feel comfortable enough as a team that they entered the Regal Capital Curling Classic men's bonspiel at their home club. The bonspiel included most of the best teams from the region, including one skipped by Al Harnden and featuring Eric Harnden. 1998 men's Olympic curling champion Patrick Hurlimann also was in the bonspiel. In the first draw, they were matched against Hurlimann. They won the game 5-3. "Once we got the lead, they were kind of shocked," Flaxey told the Sault Star. Hurlimann was sure that "they will have a bright future".^[3]

He had a successful junior career, winning the Northern Ontario Junior Men's Championship in 2005 with teammates Brady Barnett, Scott Seabrook and Steve Molodowich. This gave his team a berth at the 2005 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, representing the region. At the Canadian Juniors, he led the team to an 8–4 record, good enough for fourth place, but outside the playoffs.^[4]

Men's career

Jacobs was then picked up to play for his uncle, Al Harnden, with Jacobs throwing last rocks on the team. The team finished 5–6 at the 2007 Tim Hortons Brier. Jacobs participated in the 2008 Tim Hortons Brier as an alternate for another uncle, Eric Harnden. In 2008, Jacobs formed his own team with his cousins (Eric's sons) E. J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden as well as Caleb Flaxey. The team won the Northern Ontario provincial title in 2010, qualifying for the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier where they made the playoffs, the first team from Northern Ontario to do that since the 1993 Labatt Brier. Jacobs' team represented Northern Ontario again at the 2011 Tim Hortons Brier, where they finished with a 7–4 record, out of the playoffs. The team went to the Brier again in 2012, where they finished 5–6. The following year at the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier, they became the first team from Northern Ontario to win the Brier since 1985. The win gave them the right to represent Canada at the 2013 Ford World Men's Curling Championship. At the Worlds, Jacobs skipped the Canadian team to a silver medal, losing to Sweden's Niklas Edin in the final. Brad Jacobs also led his team to a 9-3 victory in the men's final of the 2014 Winter Olympics by defeating Great Britain

During the semifinal of the The Dominion 2012 Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship, Jacobs and team scored a rare Eight-ender, in the sixth end to win the game 14–3.^[5][6]

Personal life

Jacobs was born on June 11, 1985 in Sault Ste. Marie and was the first child of Robert and Cindy Jacobs. He has a younger sister, Lyndsey who was also very involved with sports. Jacobs attended Algoma University. He currently works at the Community First Curling Centre. He is married to Shawna Jacobs and has one child.^[7]

Teams

Grand Slam record

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brad Jacobs (curler).

• Olympic profile

• Brad Jacobs on the World Curling Tour database