Canada's men's curling team secured gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics despite a double-touching scandal earlier in the tournament. The controversy arose during a round-robin match against Sweden, where accusations led to heated exchanges and a verbal warning for Canadian player Marc Kennedy. Officials from World Curling found no violations, allowing Canada to focus and defeat Britain 9-6 in the final.
The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics curling competition drew attention beyond the ice due to a cheating allegation in the men's round-robin phase. On February 20, Sweden's Oskar Eriksson accused Canada's vice-skip Marc Kennedy of double-touching a stone—touching it after release and past the hog line, which violates rules requiring clear release before that point. Footage circulated online showing Kennedy's finger extended toward the granite stone post-release.
Kennedy responded with an outburst of expletives, denying the claim and telling Eriksson to "f--- off." He later stated, "I've been curling professionally for 25 years," emphasizing no intent to cheat. World Curling issued Kennedy a verbal warning for inappropriate language under Rule R.19, warning of potential suspension for further incidents. However, after observation, officials reported "no hog line violations or retouches of the stone."
Canadian Olympic Committee CEO David Shoemaker defended the team, comparing the incident to "a foot fault in tennis or traveling in basketball." He added, "If LeBron James takes four steps on the way to the hoop, I wouldn't say LeBron James is a cheater." Shoemaker noted the social media backlash was unfair and hoped it would subside.
A similar allegation surfaced against Canada in a match versus Switzerland, but no penalty followed. On the women's side, Canada's Rachel Homan had a stone removed for double-touching but denied intentional violation.
Undeterred, Canada's Brad Jacobs-led team won the gold medal match against Britain 9-6 on February 21 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy—their first men's title since 2014. Jacobs addressed critics post-medal: "For anyone who called us cheaters... I hope that the image of us standing on top of the podium... is burned into your brain forever."
Kennedy reflected, "I let my emotions get the best of me... We moved on, we moved forward and we did something amazing." Sweden topped curling nations with two golds in mixed doubles and women's events, while Canada earned women's bronze. The incident prompted calls for rule changes, including better officiating in the self-umpired sport, and highlighted electronic handles on stones to detect touches—though they monitor handles, not the stone itself.
