For what is usually a somewhat slower sport at a winter Olympics, this year’s Curling has garnered much eager attention following cheating allegations, arguments and a reclarification on rules. At the centre of the drama is Canada’s Marc Kennedy, part of the quartet that controversially went on to beat competition-favourites Great Britain.
This controversy began in an earlier match, Canada versus Sweden, when Swedish Oskar Eriksson accused Canada’s Marc Kennedy of ‘double-touching’ the stone, an accusation that was followed by an explosive dispute between the two. Kennedy denied it but Eriksson had the footage, something that was later shared with the media. Although the allegations led to no official sanctions taking place within the match, besides Kennedy receiving a warning about his language, the unexpected chaos amongst a typically friendly sport did generate an incredible amount of noise around what had been previously considered one of the less-popular Olympic disciplines.
This noise, coupled with Canada reaching the final, meant that the match was one no-one wanted to miss: the Canadian’s who had become the face of internet memes and integrity debates were facing world champions Great Britain. The latter, fuelled by their narrow gold miss in Beijing 2022, started the match strong, leading at the second end but by the half-way point, Canada had regained control. The tides kept turning as after the sixth end, Great Britain played a terrific double-take out but unfortunately for the Brits, Canada came back, ultimately winning 9-6 in what was heartbreak for the British team, just missing out on gold once again.
Canada’s win, as impressive as it was, was somewhat clouded by lingering questions about cheating. For Canadians, this character questioning was unheard of, it went against their stereotypical national identity in which the country’s citizens are seen as kind and known for their ‘niceness’. For Kennedy, the recipient of the accusation, he felt it was evidence that the spirit of curling, a sport known for its sportsmanship, had ‘died’.
For viewers however, it was exactly that drama that drew people in and the impact has been larger than one could have anticipated. Canada’s Marc Kennedy, whether he cheated or not, has undeniably elevated the status of Curling astronomically. For what was the 11th most popular sport out of 15 at the last Olympics* to this year’s final being the most watched BBC event of the entire Milan games**, this scandal has introduced curling to millions, whether that be through the memes circulated across social media, news articles or actually watching the sport. Its status has grown, people have become invested and its rules are most definitely now known. So, whilst it probably wasn’t the friends made along the way (looking at you, Kennedy and Eriksson), it was the curling stone that was, or wasn’t, prodded to gold that unexpectedly dominated this Winter Olympic games, shining a hopefully lasting spotlight upon the sport.
