Kevin Martin (curler)

Kevin Martin
Curler
Kevin Martin at the 2009 Tim Hortons Brier
Born (1966-07-31) July 31, 1966 (age 58)
Killam, Alberta
Curling career
Brier appearances12 (1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013)
World Championship
appearances		4 (1991, 1997, 2008, 2009)
Olympic
appearances		3 (1992 (demonstration), 2002, 2010)
Top CTRS ranking1st (2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11)
Grand Slam victories15
World Cup: 1 (Jan 2003)
The National: 4 (Nov. 2004, Mar 2007, Dec 2007, Dec 2010)
Canadian Open: 5 (2002, 2005, Jan 2007, Dec 2007, 2010)
Players' Championships: 5 (2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2014)
Medal record
Men's curling
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Vancouver Men's
Silver medal – second place 2002 Salt Lake City Men's
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 Grand Forks Men's
Silver medal – second place 1991 Winnipeg Men's
Silver medal – second place 2009 Moncton Men's
World Junior Championships
Silver medal – second place 1986 Dartmouth Men's
Representing  Alberta
Tim Hortons Brier
Gold medal – first place 1991 Hamilton Men's
Gold medal – first place 1997 Calgary Men's
Gold medal – first place 2008 Winnipeg Men's
Gold medal – first place 2009 Calgary Men's
Silver medal – second place 1996 Kamloops Men's
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Regina Men's
Bronze medal – third place 1995 Halifax Men's
Canadian Olympic Trials
Gold medal – first place 2001 Regina Men's
Gold medal – first place 2009 Edmonton Men's
Silver medal – second place 1997 Brandon Men's
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Winnipeg Men's

Kevin Martin (born July 31, 1966), nicknamed "The Old Bear" and "K-Mart",[1] is a Canadian retired curler originally from Lougheed, Alberta[2] and residing in Edmonton.[3] He is an Olympic, World and four-time Canadian champion and a member of the World Curling Hall of Fame.[4] He is considered by many commentators and former and current curlers to be the greatest curler of all time.[5][6][7][8][9] He is also known for his rivalries with Randy Ferbey/David Nedohin, the best Alberta provincial rivalry ever as the two teams were generally regarded the best in the world from 2002 to 2006; his rivalry with Jeff Stoughton, perhaps the most famous all prairies rivalry ever which spanned over 2 decades from 1991 to 2014; with Glenn Howard from 2007 to 2014, perhaps the best two team rivalry in Canadian curling history, and his rivalry with Sweden's Peja Lindholm from 1997 to 2006, perhaps the best ever men's Canada-Europe rivalry.

Over his 30-year curling career, he won four Briers, a gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics, and one world championship. He went to a total of three Winter Olympics and four World Championships, and won a total of two Olympic medals and three World Championship medals. He won 15 Grand Slam titles on the World Curling Tour (the media count 18,[10] including three Players' Championships won prior to its inclusion as a Grand Slam event), which includes a record eight Players' Championship titles. Over the course of his career, his teams won around $2 million. He was the first skip to win a "career Grand Slam," winning a title in each Grand Slam event, after he won the Players' Championship Grand Slam event in April 2005. Martin also holds the record for the most Olympic victories, with 20 total wins at the Olympics.

During his career, Martin also served as a major influence in the development of the sport of curling, establishing the competitive tier in the sport and setting the groundwork for the management of curling teams and the creation of high-level competitive curling events.[11] He is also known for contributing to the growth of curling, long known as a recreational and participant-based sport, as a spectator sport. Martin retired from competitive curling in 2014.[12] In 2019, Martin was named the greatest Canadian male skip in history in a TSN poll of broadcasters, reporters and top curlers.[13]

  1. ^ "The Golden Bear". The Curling News. 28 February 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
  2. ^ Stocking, Heather (2022-10-03). "Gold medal winner and curling ambassador sliding into Athabasca". TownAndCountryToday.com. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  3. ^ "Kevin Martin - Team Canada". Canadian Olympic Committee. 18 September 2011. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  4. ^ Heroux, Devin (April 3, 2018). "Kevin Martin inducted in World Curling Hall of Fame". CBC Sports. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  5. ^ Campigotto, Jesse (1 March 2010). "Martin cemented status as curling's greatest". CBC Sports. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  6. ^ "Curling world salutes retired Martin". Grand Slam of Curling. 20 April 2014. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  7. ^ Landry, Don (19 April 2014). "Guessing game over: Kevin Martin announces retirement, future plans". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  8. ^ Wiecek, Paul (7 March 2011). "End in sight for greatest curling career ever". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  9. ^ Weeks, Bob (19 April 2014). "Kevin Martin's legacy: easily one of the best". Bob Weeks on Curling. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  10. ^ "Skips Howard, Martin to play for Grand Slam title". CBC Sports. 28 January 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  11. ^ Landry, Don (26 May 2014). "Kevin Martin gets call to Canadian Curling Hall of Fame". Yahoo! Sports Canada. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  12. ^ "Kevin Martin retires from curling". CBC Sports. 18 April 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  13. ^ "Canada's Greatest Curlers: Martin the runaway winner for greatest skip - TSN.ca". 7 March 2019.