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World Junior Curlers Bring Home Gold

Mar 11, 2018 | 9:06 AM

For the seventh time in the history of the World Junior Curling Championships, Canadian teams are bringing home both gold medals.

Tyler Tardi’s men’s team from Langley, B.C., and the Halifax women’s team skipped by Kaitlyn Jones captured the world junior titles on Saturday at Curl Aberdeen in Aberdeen, Scotland, giving Canada its first sweep since Braden Calvert and Kelsey Rocque pulled it off in 2015 at Tallinn, Estonia.

Tardi, is backed up by vice-skip Sterling Middleton, second Jordan Tardi (Tyler’s brother), lead Zachary Curtis, alternate Jacques Gauthier and coach Paul Tardi (Tyler and Jordan’s dad)

Tardi says…”I don’t know, I’ve been dreaming about this moment,” said Tardi, who returned to the world championship this year after not making the playoffs in 2017. “To finally have it come true is unbelievable. I can’t believe I’m standing here.”

Team Canada put on a show in the final, making shot after shot with pinpoint accuracy and giving the Swedes few opportunities to get any offense going.

The turning point was a score of three in the fifth end that gave Canada a 5-2 lead at the break. The teams traded singles in the next two ends, but Jones stole a point in the eighth to take a 7-3 lead. After that, it was an exercise in keeping the house clean.

“It’s indescribable, I feel amazing right now,” said an elated Jones after the game. “I know I put everything out there on the line today and came out on top, and that’s an incredible feeling.”

For Clarke and Karlee Burgess, this marks a return to the podium. Both were on the 2016 world championship team, skipped by Mary Fay. Jones joined the team this season after moving to Nova Scotia from Saskatchewan, where she was the 2017 provincial champion.

It was Canada’s 19th world junior men’s title, and 12th world junior women’s title – both are tops in that category.

The 2019 World Junior Curling Championships will take place Feb. 17-24 in Liverpool, N.S.

Photo supplied: Curling Canada