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Brad Jacobs

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Brad Jacobs

Bradley Robert Jacobs (born June 11, 1985) is a Canadian curler from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. He currently skips his own team out of Calgary, Alberta. He is a 2-time Olympic champion skip, having led Canada to gold medals at the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2026 Winter Olympics. Jacobs is also the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier and the 2025 Montana's Brier championship skip and the 2013 World Championship runner-up. He is a 12-time Northern Ontario provincial champion, and one-time provincial junior champion.

Jacobs and his 2014 Olympic gold medallist team were well known for their physical fitness. They have been described as "fitness freaks" and were in 2014 "embracing curling's athletic evolution as much or more than any other team", helping to start the movement of more curling athletes embracing fitness and spending equal time "on the curling ice and at the gym".

Jacobs was born in Sault Ste. Marie, the son of Bob and Cynthia Jacobs (née Harnden).

Jacobs began curling at age ten with a coach named Tom Coulterman in 1995. Coulterman saw potential in him and formed a team, with Jacobs playing third for Ryan Harnden, and being joined by Matt Premo and Scott Seabrook. As Jacobs entered high school, he entered competitive curling and took it seriously. He played second for Harnden in tournaments age 16 and under and played second for E. J. Harnden on the highschool team. In the fall, they formed a team together with E.J. as skip, Ryan as second, and Jacobs throwing lead stones. They came third in the tournament. By autumn 2001, they added Caleb Flaxey at third. They were starting to feel comfortable enough as a team that they entered the Regal Capital Curling Classic men's bonspiel at their home club. The bonspiel included most of the best teams from the region, including one skipped by Al Harnden and featuring Eric Harnden. 1998 men's Olympic curling champion Patrick Hurlimann also was in the bonspiel. In the first draw, they were matched against Hurlimann. They won the game 5-3. "Once we got the lead, they were kind of shocked," Flaxey told the Sault Star. Hurlimann was sure that "they will have a bright future".

He had a successful junior career, winning the Northern Ontario Junior Men's Championship in 2005 with teammates Brady Barnett, Scott Seabrook and Steve Molodowich. This gave his team a berth at the 2005 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, representing the region. At the Canadian Juniors, he led the team to an 8–4 record, good enough for fourth place, but out of the playoffs.

Jacobs first started in his men's career playing for his uncle, Al Harnden, with Jacobs throwing last rocks on the team. The team finished 5–6 at the 2007 Tim Hortons Brier. Jacobs participated in the 2008 Tim Hortons Brier as an alternate for another uncle, Eric Harnden. In 2008, Jacobs formed his own team with his cousins (Eric's sons) E. J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden as well as Caleb Flaxey. The team won the Northern Ontario provincial title in 2010, qualifying for the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier where they made the playoffs, the first team from Northern Ontario to do that since the 1993 Labatt Brier. Jacobs' team represented Northern Ontario again at the 2011 Tim Hortons Brier, where they finished with a 7–4 record, out of the playoffs. The following season, during the semifinal of The Dominion 2012 Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship, Jacobs and team scored a rare eight-ender, in the sixth end to win the game 14–3. The team would go on to win the Northern Ontario championship and go to the Brier again in 2012, where they finished 5–6. The following year at the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier, they became the first team from Northern Ontario to win the Brier since 1985. The win gave them the right to represent Canada at the 2013 Ford World Men's Curling Championship. At the Worlds, Jacobs skipped the Canadian team to a silver medal, losing to Sweden's Niklas Edin in the final. Jacobs got another chance to represent Canada the next year, going undefeated and winning the 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials to represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics. There, Team Jacobs won their first international championship, defeating Great Britain's David Murdoch 9–3 in the final. Jacobs curled 95% in the gold medal game.

Following their Olympic success, the Jacobs rink once again made it to the Brier in 2015. After posting a 10-1 round robin record in first place, they won the 1 vs. 2 game, sending them to the final against the defending Brier champions, Team Canada (skipped by Pat Simmons), which they lost. Later in the season the Jacobs rink won their first career Grand Slam event, the 2015 Players' Championship. At the 2016 Tim Hortons Brier, the Jacobs rink once again tore through the round robin, going undefeated to finish in first place. However, they ran into trouble in the playoffs, losing to Newfoundland and Labrador in the 1 vs. 2 game and to Alberta in the semifinals. They did rebound in the bronze medal game, defeating Manitoba to finish third overall.

The 2016-17 season would be the best to date for the Jacobs rink on the World Curling Tour, winning two slams, the 2016 Boost National and the 2017 Humpty's Champions Cup. At the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier, the team once again made the playoffs, after posting an 8-3 round robin record. However, they lost both of their playoff games, settling for fourth place. Jacobs played in the 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, attempting to head to the Olympics again, but his team finished with a disappointing 3-5 record, missing the playoffs. The team again represented Northern Ontario at the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier, making it to the playoffs with an 8-3 record, but lost to Alberta's Brendan Bottcher rink in the 3 vs. 4 game.

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