Rachel Homan books Olympic ticket after team sweeps final of Canadian curling trials

Brad Jacobs owned a poor performance in his opening game at the Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials.He didn’t lose again at Scotiabank Centre and is now on his way back to the Winter Olympics.Jacobs and his Calgary-based team held off a spirited challenge from Matt Dunstone’s Winnipeg side on Saturday night in Halifax, making a hit in the 10th end for a 6-5 victory and two-game sweep in the best-of-three men’s final.Jacobs, third Marc Kennedy, second Brett Gallant and lead Ben Hebert will wear the Maple Leaf at the Milan Cortina Games in February.”We’re just four curling maniacs together on the same team,” Gallant said. “Like, we’re all a little bit different and maybe approach the game in slightly different ways, but when put together it’s a great combination.”WATCH | Jacobs sweeps men’s final against Dunstone:Team Jacobs headed to Milano-Cortina Olympics after sweeping Team Dunstone Brad Jacobs and his Calgary-based rink will represent Canada at the Milano-Cortina Winter Games after defeating Matt Dunstone’s Winnipeg team 6-5 in Game 2 to sweep the best-of-three men’s final of the Canadian Curling Trials.Afterward, coach Paul Webster said Jacobs is one of the “most open, honest and accountable” skips in the game.Jacobs sat down with his teammates after a 6-5 defeat to Kevin Koe last weekend and told them the loss was “on him” after throwing too many heavy draws, Webster recalled.”He was just accountable,” Webster said. “He owned the loss and said, ‘Hey, what do we have to do next?”‘The veteran squad figured things out quickly. Six straight wins followed against one of the deepest men’s fields in recent memory.The run of victories gave Jacobs a bye to the final. A 9-8 victory in Game 1 on Friday at Scotiabank Centre was followed by a second straight one-point win over the top-ranked Dunstone.”This was the one event that was circled on the calendar four years ago that this team wanted to show up for and win,” Jacobs said.”To work toward that and have all of the systems and preparation in place to come here and play our best and win is something special.”Earlier in the day, Ottawa’s Rachel Homan defeated Christina Black of Halifax in the women’s final.After a rollicking back-and-forth affair a night earlier, Jacobs was forced to a single in the opening end and picked up a steal in the second when Dunstone was light on a draw.Dunstone, vice Colton Lott, second E.J. Harnden and lead Ryan Harnden pulled even with a deuce in the third but Kennedy shone in the fourth end.He made a highlight-reel runback triple-takeout and Jacobs followed with an angle-raise to salvage a single.”It was almost like he was possessed with the amount of shots that he was making,” Jacobs said of his vice. “Marc blacked out in that game from like the first end to the last shot of the game.”And I’m just so proud of how he played today. Nobody deserves to win this week, I’d say, more than that guy.”WATCH | Jacobs reflects on decisive Game 2 win:Brad Jacobs on ‘mind-blowing’ opportunity to go back to OlympicsSkip Brad Jacobs discusses his team’s victory and representing Canada at the Milano-Cortina Winter Games.Dunstone picked a Jacobs rock off the button for a single in the sixth end. Jacobs answered with a double-takeout for a pair in the seventh and ticked off his own rock for a highlight double again in the eighth to force Dunstone to draw for one.Jacobs was content to give up a steal of one in the ninth to keep hammer for the final end.”Those were the two best teams in Canada going at it,” Dunstone said. “We beat them three times in a row going into this event and they got us three times here. That’s just the way it’s going to go.”Jacobs won Olympic gold in 2014 at the Sochi Games with a team that included Dunstone’s current front end. This was the first Trials final appearance for Dunstone and vice Colton Lott.Kennedy and lead Ben Hebert won Olympic gold in 2010 on a team skipped by Kevin Martin. Kennedy and Hebert returned to the Games in 2018 with skip Kevin Koe.Gallant, who earned Olympic bronze three years ago on a team skipped by Brad Gushue, has also qualified to play mixed doubles for Canada at the 2026 Games with Jocelyn Peterman.Homan’s Olympic returnAfter a close call in the opener of the best-of-three final a day earlier, coach Heather Nedohin could sense that Rachel Homan was ready to clinch an Olympic berth Saturday.”It was in her eyes,” Nedohin said. “She knew what she needed to do.”Homan was in form throughout a 12-3 rout of Christina Black’s Halifax side in Game 2 that secured a third straight trip to the Winter Games.The victory, which followed a tight 5-4 decision in Game 1, completed a sweep for the Ottawa team in the women’s final at the Montana’s Canadian Curling Trials.WATCH | Team Homan secures 2026 Olympic ticket:Canada’s Team Homan clinches 2026 Olympic spotOttawa’s Rachel Homan, Tracy Fleury, Emma Miskew and Sarah Wilkes sweep Team Christina Black in the final of the Canadian curling trials.A four-point third end turned the game and Homan’s side of vice Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew and lead Sarah Wilkes never looked back.”We couldn’t be happier,” said Homan, who shot a game-high 95 per cent. “There aren’t words to describe putting that Maple Leaf on your back at the Olympics.”Miskew played third on Homan’s team that qualified for the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Homan returned to the 2022 Beijing Games in mixed doubles with John Morris but again missed the podium.The 2026 Milan-Cortina Games will be the Olympic debut for Fleury — who lost in an extra end to Jennifer Jones in the 2021 Trials final — and for Wilkes.Women’s team play begins Feb. 12 at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.”It’s a little surreal,” Miskew said. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”WATCH | Homan ready to ‘take on the world’ in Milan-Cortina:Rachel Homan ready to return to Olympics and ‘take on the world’ Rachel Homan says her team couldn’t be happier about heading to the Milano-Cortina Winter Games and is focused on winning gold.Homan and company lost just a single round-robin game and was the heavy favourite to earn the Olympic berth.Black’s five-player squad of vice Jill Brothers, Marlee Powers, Jenn Baxter and Karlee Everist upset second-ranked Kerri Einarson of Gimli, Man., in the semifinal and gave Homan a stiff test in Game 1.Game 2 was completely different as Black struggled with draw weight and shot just 58 per cent.It was still a remarkable run to the final for the 21st-ranked team. The crowd of 7,267 at Scotiabank Centre provided a standing ovation as Black made her final throw before the teams shook hands once the minimum eight ends were completed.”It was really special and I know it’s something I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” Black said of her team’s performance this week.The Halifax skip had a chance to put pressure on Homan in the opening end but was light with her final throw. Rather than being forced to draw against three, Homan was able to score a deuce.Black missed another opportunity in the second end. She could have scored three but was light with her draw and settled for a pair.In the third, Homan’s side put rocks in play and took advantage of mistakes. Brothers rubbed a guard and Black was heavy with her final throw to allow Homan to make a tap for four.Homan stole a pair in the fifth to enter the mid-game break with a 9-2 lead, further hushing the partisan crowd.”Everything about their team is just so dialed in and they just keep getting better,” Black said. “They’re just so inspiring. They’re just really, really good.”Homan is a five-time Scotties Tournament of Hearts champion and three-time world champion. An Olympic medal is the only thing missing from her glowing resume.A foursome built to succeed at the highest level took another big step toward the ultimate goal.”The team played outstanding in front of [Rachel],” Nedohin said. “It was a hardcore play by those girls and it was beautiful to watch.”