Canada's men's curling team secured gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics by defeating Great Britain 9-6 in the final on February 21 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The victory came after a round-robin scandal where Swedish curler Oskar Eriksson accused Canadian vice-skip Marc Kennedy of double-touching stones past the hog line. World Curling issued a warning to Kennedy for inappropriate language but upheld the self-policing rules of the sport.
The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics featured a men's curling final where Team Canada, led by skip Brad Jacobs and vice-skip Marc Kennedy, overcame Team Great Britain 9-6 to claim gold on February 21, 2026, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Great Britain's squad, consisting of skip Bruce Mouat, Grant Hardie, Hammy McMillan, Bobby Lammie, and alternate Kyle Waddell, earned silver in their second consecutive Olympic final appearance as world champions entering the Games.
Controversy arose earlier in the round-robin phase during Canada's match against Sweden. Swedish curler Oskar Eriksson accused Kennedy of double-touching the stone after it crossed the hog line, a violation in curling where players must not touch the stone post-release. Kennedy responded with an outburst, stating, “I haven’t done it once,” and using expletives, leading to an official warning from World Curling for inappropriate language.
Kennedy claimed Sweden had premeditated the accusation, alleging they coordinated with Swedish television to set up unusual camera angles to capture potential fouls. “They have come up with a plan here at the Olympics, as far as I know, to catch teams in the act at the hog line,” Kennedy said. “This was planned, right from the word go yesterday.” Sweden denied the camera setup but stated they had raised concerns about similar incidents for seven or eight years.
In response to the incident, World Curling temporarily stationed umpires at the hog line but later reverted to the sport's traditional self-policing system, stating they would not use video replays to review calls. Canada lost their next match to Switzerland but recovered to win gold. Retired NFL player Jason Kelce commented on a podcast, jokingly defending Canada with, “If you're not cheating you're not trying,” though he noted they received only a slap on the wrist.
Upon returning home, Great Britain's team was welcomed by crowds at Glasgow Central Station on February 24, posing with silver medals. Canadian curler Brett Gallant, from Prince Edward Island, celebrated the win in interviews.
