Brad Gushue

Bradley Raymond Gushue, ONL (born June 16, 1980) is a Canadian curler and Frozen Yogurt Mogul from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Gushue is a six-time (1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001) provincial junior curling champion in his home province of Newfoundland, the last five as skip.

Gushue was also the alternate for John Morris at the 1998 World Junior Championships, which Morris won.

After his outstanding career as a junior, Gushue made an impressive transition into men's curling, and his team quickly became a competitive force.

He finished with a bronze medal at the 1999 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, a silver medal at the 2000 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, and in 2001, he not only won the 2001 Canadian Juniors but the team would go on to win the World Junior Championships as well.

After finishing in 4th place in the 2002 Newfoundland and Labrador provincials, Gushue would then win the provincial tankard the following year, and qualify 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 to bring experience and advice for the Canadian Olympic trials.

Shortly afterward, 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 was nominally the skip, holding the broom in the house and sweeping opponents' stones behind the tee line.) The personnel change was a success, as Gushue defeated Jeff Stoughton's team in the Olympic trials final on December 11, 2005, qualifying him to represent Canada at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

At the Olympics, he defeated surprise finalist Finland's Markku Uusipaavalniemi to win the gold medal.

With his teammates, Gushue became the first Newfoundlander ever to win an Olympic gold medal.

Before the gold medal match, a provincial order allowed for the closure of all schools at noon that day, one hour before local coverage of the event began.

Gushue, along with teammates Russ Howard, Mark Nichols, Jamie Korab and Mike Adam, represented Canada in curling at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they won the gold medal by defeating Finland 10–4.

He also represented Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics, where he won a bronze medal.

In 2007, Gushue replaced Mike Adam with Chris Schille as second.

A month following their runner-up finish at the 2007 Tim Hortons Brier in Hamilton, Gushue announced that Jamie Korab, a longtime teammate, was also cut from the team.

Despite a strong Brier appearance and season, Gushue said that the team seemed to lack a needed chemistry and that Korab's departure was a group decision.

In 2008, David Noftall assumed the lead position, but this did not prove to be a winning combination.

In April 2008, Gushue replaced his front-end for the sixth straight year: Jamie Korab rejoined the team as lead and Ryan Fry joined the team at second.

Gushue failed to make it out of the 2009 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials pre-qualifying tournament, where they won just one game.

In April 2010, Randy Ferbey joined Gushue's team holding the broom but throwing third rocks.

Gushue continued to throw last rocks.

Mark Nichols moved from third to second position and Ryan Fry played lead.

Jamie Korab decided to take a year or two off.

In their first event as a team, the rink lost to Thomas Lips in the final of the 2010 Baden Masters.

On February 9, 2011, Randy Ferbey announced that he was no longer curling with the Gushue team.

He stated, "I was done curling with them in Oshawa (The BDO Canadian Open Grand Slam Event).

For the 2011–12 season, Gushue put together a team of Ryan Fry, Geoff Walker of Alberta, and Adam Casey of PEI.

Gushue played in the 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials – Road to the Roar and just missed out on advancing to the 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, losing to the eventual Olympic gold medallist Brad Jacobs rink in the final qualifying game.

He would still be at the Olympic Trials as the alternate for Kevin Martin's team, winning a bronze medal as the alternate.

In addition to the Olympics, Gushue won the 2017 World Men's Curling Championship with teammates Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant, and Geoff Walker.

He is a record six-time Brier champion skip, having won in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024 all with Nichols, Gallant and Walker, except for 2023 and 2024 with E. J. Harnden replacing Gallant.

Their win in 2017 was Newfoundland and Labrador's first Brier title in 41 years.

At the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier, Gushue set a new record for Brier game wins as a skip, breaking a three-way tie with previous record-holders Russ Howard and Kevin Martin.

He teamed up with Val Sweeting at the 2018 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Olympic Trials, finishing as runner-up.

In 2020, Gushue played with his 12-year-old daughter Hayley at the Newfoundland and Labrador mixed doubles championship.

The duo made it to the final, earning the silver medal.