BEIJING — It was a Valentine's Day to remember for Canadian curling power couple Brett Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman.
They celebrated the holiday with surprises for the other before posting victories at the Beijing Olympics.Ìý
"She gave me about 50 Valentine's Day cards," Gallant said Monday. "It took me about a half-hour to get through them all, but it was really nice. It made me feel really good."
Peterman, who plays second for Jennifer Jones, helped the Canadian team to an 11-5 win over Russia. Gallant, who plays second for Brad Gushue, helped the men's side beat Italy 7-3.
Gallant and Peterman plan to get married this summer.
"A dozen roses were waiting for her this morning," Gallant said.Ìý
Ìý
LAST IN LAST STONE
The draw shot challenge has been a trouble spot for the Canadian curling teams at the Beijing Games.
The pre-game draw to the button is used to determine which team gets hammer. Each team throws two stones and the team with the lower total throws last stone in the opening end.
Canada was 5-21 overall in draw shot challenge - including mixed doubles, men's and women's play - after Monday night's session.
Cumulative statistics are used as a second tiebreaker - if more than two teams are tied - for playoff seeding. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head record.
Ìý
EVENING PAPER
The curling stones had a little more action on them Monday at the Ice Cube.
The stones were "maintained" on Sunday night, a World Curling Federation spokesman said in an email.Ìý
Papering the bottom of each granite rock - also called "touching up," "sanding" or "texturing" - is done by ice technicians on-site.Ìý
The process impacts the rock's curl and speed on the ice.Ìý
Ìý
STICKS 'N' STONES
Curling is a constant on the Olympic calendar - starting before the opening ceremony and running through to the final day - and one of the more popular sports on the program.
But it took some heavy lifting for that to happen.Ìý
Author Warren Hansen, a former elite curler and longtime event operations director for Curling Canada, helped make the push for curling to make its long-awaited return as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Calgary Games.
After three applications to the IOC, the sport gained full medal status at the 1998 Nagano Games in Japan. Hansen writes about the journey - including navigating the murky waters of politics and sport - in his new book, "Sticks 'n' Stones."
"I think this is a dream that (Curling Canada Hall of Famer) Ray Kingsmith and I had," Hansen said in a recent interview. "We set ourselves in motion to try to make it happen.Ìý
"Nobody else was even talking about it or thinking about it ... we were able to push the ball up the hill and get it down the other side."Ìý
Curling was played at the first Winter Olympics in 1924 in Chamonix, France, and again as a demonstration sport in 1932 at Lake Placid, N.Y.
"Sticks 'n' Stones," 372 pages, is available in hardcover, paperback and ebook editions from FriesenPress. Retail prices range from $16.99 to $40.99.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2022.Ìý
Follow @GregoryStrongCP on Twitter.
Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
