By Paul Hoogkamp, CTVOlympics.ca Posted Monday, February 8, 2010

Canada has never failed to reach the podium in Olympic curling since the sport returned to competiton in 1998.

Through three Olympic Games, Canada has collected two gold medals, two silver and two bronze in men’s and women’s competition.

With Canada ranked No. 1 in both categories by the World Curling Federation heading into this year’s event in Vancouver, the podium streak appears to be in good hands.

This will be Kevin Martin‘s third trip to the Olympics while Cheryl Bernard will be representing Canada for the first time. However, history shows that international experience is not crucial when it comes to Olympic success.

Martin’s Edmonton rink has dominated the curling world in recent years, capturing the World Championship in 2008 and losing in the final last year.

His foursome of John Morris, Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert also led the Canadian Team Ranking System standings in two of the last three years.

Bernard’s rink out of Calgary does not have a Scotties title to their credit but appear to have peaked at just the right time. Bernard is coming off the biggest victory of her career and the team of Susan O’Connor, Carolyn Darbyshire and Cori Bartel comes into the Olympics with a great deal of confidence.

Both Martin and Bernard can gain confidence from the success of previous Canadian teams, who have won medals with or without experience.

Photo: Cheryl Bernard

In 1998, Mike Harris played the role of Bernard, coming out of nowhere to defeat Martin and capture the Canadian Curling Trials. However, Harris came down with viral pneumonia late in the Olympic competition and settled for the silver medal after dropping a lopsided decision to Switzerland in the final.

On the women’s side, the late Sandra Schmirler travelled to Nagano as the odds-on favourite to win gold and she did not disappoint. Schmirler was the defending world champion going in and defeated Denmark for the gold medal. The image of the Regina-born skip on the podium with tears flowing down her cheeks remains a lasting image of the Games in Nagano.

In 2002, there was a familiar face carrying Canada’s colours in the men’s competition as Martin made his second trip to the Olympics. The Alberta skip previously represented Canada in 1992 when curling was a demonstration sport, finishing fourth in Albertville, France.

Martin held an 8-1 record heading to the medal round in Salt Lake City and advanced to the gold medal game with a win over Sweden. However, the Edmonton-native had to settle for the silver medal after his final draw was heavy, allowing Norway to steal the win.

B.C.’s Kelley Law also finished the round-robin portion of the competition with an 8-1 record but was upset by Great Britain in the semifinals but the 2000 world champion rebounded by beating the United States to collect the bronze medal.

In 2006, both Canadian rinks had enjoyed little international experience when they clinched their Olympic berths and headed to Turin. Brad Gushue and Shannon Kleibrink, who lost to Schmirler in the 1997 Canadian Curling Trials, did not have a Canadian title between them.

Gushue captured the imagination of the entire country as he marched toward the medal round. The young rink from Newfoundland and Labrador took full advantage of the experience of veteran two-time world champion Russ Howard to get to the gold medal game. Facing Finland, Gushue scored six in the sixth end to secure Canada’s first gold medal in men’s curling.

Kleibrink struggled in the round-robin and squeaked into the medal round with a 6-3 record. In the semi-finals, the Calgary rink dropped a close decision to Switzerland but came back to outscore Norway in the bronze medal game.

By virtue of Canada’s success in curling over the years, both Martin and Bernard will have high expectations when the round-robin begins on February 16.

Martin faces Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud in the opening draw and Bernard takes on Germany’s Andrea Schoepp in the first women’s draw.