Brad Gushue
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Bradley Raymond "Brad" Gushue, ONL, LL.D. (hon.) (born June 16, 1980 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador) is a Canadian curler. Gushue along with teammates Russ Howard, Mark Nichols, Jamie Korab and Mike Adam represented Canada in curling in the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they won the gold medal by defeating Finland 10-4, including a dramatic 6-point sixth end in the final match, which was conceded after the 8-end minimum stipulated under Olympic rules. Gushue is a six-time (1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001) provincial junior curling champion in his home province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the last five as skip. In 2001, he not only won the provincial championship, but the national championship and world junior championships as well. Gushue was also the alternate for John Morris at the 1998 World Junior Championships which Morris won. After his junior career, Gushue quickly became one of his province's best curlers. Gushue qualified for the 2003 Nokia Brier where he finished with a 6-5 record. By the 2004 Nokia Brier, Gushue proved not only was he one of the best curlers in Newfoundland, but one of the best in Canada, when his team finished with an 8-4 record. The following year, Gushue qualified for the 2005 Tim Hortons Brier where his team once again finished 6-5. In May, 2005, Gushue brought in former world champion Russ Howard as fifth man on the team, in order to bring experience and advice for the Canadian Olympic trials. Shortly afterwards, second Mike Adam volunteered to step aside for Howard, as the team felt that Howard's skills and experience gave them the best chance to make it to the Olympics. Howard, playing as second, was given the right to call the team's shots as a skip would, but would defer to Gushue for the final word on calls. (Under international rules, Howard is nominally the skip.) This would prove to be a successful move, as the team would win the trials, and Gushue defeated Jeff Stoughton's team in the final on December 11th, 2005, qualifying him to represent Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. At the Olympics, he defeated Finland's Markku Uusipaavalniemi in the finals to win the Gold medal. With his teammates, Gushue became the first Newfoundlander ever to win an Olympic gold medal. In anticipation of the winning match, a provincial order allowed for the closure of all schools at noon on that day, one hour before local coverage of the event began. [1] [2] Gushue is currently a Vice-President of Marketing for ACME Financial Services in St. John's, NL. As of 2007, Team Gushue now curls out of Corner Brook, NL.[3] A month following the 2007 Brier in Hamilton, Brad Gushue announced that Jamie Korab would no longer curl with team. Korab has curled with the Newfoundland-based team for ten years. Despite a strong Brier appearance and season, Gushue said that the team seemed to lack a needed chemistry. Chris Schille stated that Korab's departure was a group decision. This announcement followed the departures of Russ Howard and Mike Adam. Currently, Mark Nichols and Gushue are the only members from the 2006 gold medal team that remain with the rink.
[edit] Brier AppearancesBrad Gushue made his first showing at the Brier (Canadian Men's National Championship) in 2003, and has continued to represent Newfoundland and Laborador each year since, except in 2006 when he was unable to participate due to being at the Olympics in Italy. In 2004, Brad Gushue was named the All Star skip at the Nokia Brier. His best record ever was at the 2007 Brier in Ontario, where he finished 8-3 and earned himself a spot in the "One vs. Two" playoff game, where he beat Ontario's Glenn Howard. His team advanced to the finals, where they would have a rematch with Howard, and this time would lose. At the 2008 Brier, Gushue's team failed to make the playoffs, losing a tie-breaker to British Columbia's Bob Ursel [1]. [edit] Personal LifeBrad Gushue married Krista Tibbo on September 8th, 2006. [4] The couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Hayley Sophia, on October 14, 2007. She weighed 6 lbs. 14.5 ozs. [5] [edit] External links
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