Marc Kennedy

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Not to be confused with Mark Kennedy.
Marc Kennedy
Curler
2016 World Men's Curling Championship, Canada vs. Germany, 5th April 2016 07.JPG
Kennedy at the 2016 World Men's Curling Championship
Born (1982-02-05) February 5, 1982 (age 39)
St. Albert, Alberta
Team
Curling clubCommunity First CC,[1]
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Saville Community SC[2]
Edmonton, AB
SkipBrad Jacobs
ThirdMarc Kennedy
SecondE. J. Harnden
LeadRyan Harnden
Alternate
Mixed doubles
partner		Val Sweeting
Career
Member Association Alberta (1998–2018)
 Northern Ontario (2019–present)
Brier appearances10 (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021)
World Championship
appearances		4 (2008, 2009, 2016, 2021)
Olympic
appearances		2 (2010, 2018)
Top CTRS ranking1st (2006–07, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2015–16, 2019–20)
Grand Slam victories15: The National (Mar 2007, Dec. 2010, 2019);
Players (2004, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2018); Canadian Open (Jan 2007, Dec 2007, 2010, 2020); Tour Challenge (2015, 2019)
hide
Medal record
Men's Curling
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 Vancouver
World Curling Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 Grand Forks
Gold medal – first place 2016 Basel
Silver medal – second place 2009 Moncton
Tim Hortons Brier
Silver medal – second place 2017 St. John's
Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2003 Tarvisio
Representing  Alberta
Tim Hortons Brier
Gold medal – first place 2008 Winnipeg
Gold medal – first place 2009 Calgary
Gold medal – first place 2016 Ottawa
Canadian Olympic Curling Trials
Gold medal – first place 2009 Edmonton
Gold medal – first place 2017 Ottawa
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Halifax
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Winnipeg
Canada Winter Games
Gold medal – first place

Marc Kennedy (born February 5, 1982) is a Canadian curler, and Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic gold medallist from St. Albert, Alberta.

In 2019, Kennedy was named the greatest Canadian male second in history in a TSN poll of broadcasters, reporters and top curlers.[3]

Career[]

Kennedy was born in St. Albert, Alberta. He is a Canadian Winter Games champion[4] and three-time provincial junior champion. He won his first provincial men's championship with Kevin Martin in 2007. As a junior, he played second for Carter Rycroft at the 1998 Canadian Junior Curling Championships and played third for at the 1999 and 2001 Canadian Juniors.

In 2003 Kennedy was an alternate for the 2003 Winter Universiade gold medal winning team from Brandon University skipped by Mike McEwen.

After 2-time World Junior Champion John Morris moved to Alberta in 2003, Kennedy joined his team at second position. In 2004, they lost the Canada Cup final to Randy Ferbey.

In 2006, both Morris and Kennedy joined 2-time Brier champion Kevin Martin on his new team.

In 2008, Kennedy won the Brier and the World Championships as a member of the team. They repeated their Brier win in 2009 going undefeated for a second straight year and setting a record for consecutive Brier games won (26) previously held by the Ferbey foursome.

In 2010, Kennedy won an Olympic Gold Medal in Vancouver with Kevin Martin, John Morris and Ben Hebert as Team Canada defeated Thomas Ulsrud of Norway 6-3 in the Gold Medal Game.

After a win at the Alberta provincials, Kennedy headed with Team Martin to the 2011 Tim Hortons Brier. They went through the round robin with a 9-2 win-loss record, and lost the page 3 vs. 4 playoff game to Ontario and the bronze medal game to Newfoundland/Labrador. Kennedy left the Brier prior to the bronze medal game because he and his wife were expecting a new child.

In 2013, Kennedy and Team Martin won the Alberta provincials with a close win over Kevin Koe, to earn a berth in the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier in their hometown Edmonton. On the first day, Kennedy won the Ford Hot Shots skills and shot-making competition that precedes the start of round-robin play.[5] The team played in the 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, finishing third.

Following Kevin Martin's retirement from curling in 2014, Kennedy joined Team Kevin Koe at third. They played in their first Brier together in 2015, finishing with a 6-5 record, missing the playoffs. In December 2015, Kennedy, along with his teammates, claimed the first berth in the 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials with their Canada Cup victory in Grande Prairie, AB. The team continued their winning ways that season by winning the 2016 Tim Hortons Brier and a gold medal at the 2016 World Men's Curling Championship. Representing Team Canada as defending champions, the team lost in the final of the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier.

The team would go on to win the 2017 Olympic Trials, and represented Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics, finishing fourth.

Following the 2017-18 season Kennedy announced he would be taking a break from competitive curling to heal injuries and focus on family. [6] He subsequently took a position as national team program performance consultant with Curling Canada.[7] He was invited to play third for team Brad Jacobs at the 2018 Canada Cup, to fill in for Ryan Fry, who took a couple of events off, following unsportsmanlike behaviour from an event he played in.[8] Kennedy's addition to the team worked out, and they would win the event.[9] Kennedy announced in March 2019 that he would join Team Jacobs to replace Ryan Fry for the next three curling seasons. [10] In their first event, the 2019 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic, the team went undefeated up until the final where they would lose to Team Epping. Team Jacobs won three straight Grand Slam events, at the Tour Challenge, National and the Canadian Open. They would unsurprisingly win the 2020 Northern Ontario Men's Provincial Curling Championship, going in as the number one seed. At the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier, they battled through two tiebreakers before losing to Newfoundland and Labrador's Brad Gushue in the 3 vs. 4 game, all within the same day. It would be the team's last event of the season as both the Players' Championship and the Champions Cup Grand Slam events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

Team Jacobs played in two tour events during the 2020–21 season, winning the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard and losing in the qualification game of the Ashley HomeStore Curling Classic. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, the 2021 provincial championship was cancelled. As the reigning provincial champions, Team Jacobs was chosen to represent Northern Ontario at the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier.[12] At the Brier, they finished with a 7–5 record.[13] Also during the 2020–21 season, Kennedy served as the alternate for the Brendan Bottcher rink at the 2021 World Men's Curling Championship. He was added to the team as a backup plan incase Bottcher's third Darren Moulding's back injury that he sustained during the 2021 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship re-emerged as an issue.[14] Kennedy, however, did not have to play in any games for the team as Moulding's back held up for the tournament.

Personal life[]

Kennedy is married to his wife Nicole Kennedy (née MacDonald), and they have two daughters.

Kennedy has a marketing degree from the University of Alberta. He was a franchise owner for M&M Meat Shops until he sold his business in 2012 to focus more on curling. He currently works as a real estate agent for Sarasota Realty.[15] Kennedy is a Hec Gervais Scholarship winner, as well as a Can Fund recipient[16] He is also currently an MBA Student at the University of Alberta.[17] Marc and Nicole began a youth bonspiel in 2016 called the Marc Kennedy Junior Classic which is held in St. Albert and Edmonton. Going into its fifth year the spiel sees over 200 athletes participating (52 teams). The Bonspiel has seen a spin off program in 2018 (Over The Pond) introducing international teams selected through the Nordic Jr Curling Tour. Two Canadian teams are also selected and visit the year end event in Sweden.

Kennedy currently works as a coaching consultant.[18]

Teams[]

From left: Kevin Martin, John Morris, Kennedy, Ben Hebert
Season Skip Third Second Lead Events
1997–98 Carter Rycroft Marc Kennedy Jason Lesmeister 1998 CJCC
1998–99 Marc Kennedy Kevin Skarban Kevin McNee 1999 CJCC
1999–00 Jeff Erickson Marc Kennedy Kevin Skarban Kevin McNee
2000–01 Jeff Erickson Marc Kennedy Kevin Skarban Aaron Sarafinchan 2001 CJCC
2001–02[19] Marc Kennedy Chris Schille Kevin Skarban Aaron Sarafinchan
2002–03[20] Chris Schille Marc Kennedy Steven Meadows Stephen Jensen
2003–04 John Morris Kevin Koe Marc Kennedy Paul Moffatt 2004 Alta., CC
2004–05 John Morris Kevin Koe Marc Kennedy Paul Moffatt 2005 Alta., CC
2005–06 John Morris Kevin Koe Marc Kennedy Paul Moffatt 2005 COCT, 2006 Alta., CC
2006–07 Kevin Martin John Morris Marc Kennedy Ben Hebert 2007 Alta., CC, Brier
2007–08 Kevin Martin John Morris Marc Kennedy Ben Hebert 2008 Alta., CC, Brier, WCC
2008–09 Kevin Martin John Morris Marc Kennedy Ben Hebert 2009 Alta., CC, Brier, WCC
2009–10 Kevin Martin John Morris Marc Kennedy Ben Hebert 2009 COCT, 2010 OG
2010–11 Kevin Martin John Morris Marc Kennedy Ben Hebert 2010 CC, 2011 Alta., Brier
2011–12 Kevin Martin John Morris Marc Kennedy Ben Hebert 2011 CC, 2012 Alta.
2012–13 Kevin Martin John Morris Marc Kennedy Ben Hebert 2012 CC, 2013 Alta., Brier
2013–14 Kevin Martin David Nedohin Marc Kennedy Ben Hebert 2013 COCT, 2014 Alta.
2014–15 Kevin Koe Marc Kennedy Brent Laing Ben Hebert 2014 CC, 2015 Alta., Brier
2015–16 Kevin Koe Marc Kennedy Brent Laing Ben Hebert 2015 CC, 2016 Alta., Brier, WCC
2016–17 Kevin Koe Marc Kennedy Brent Laing Ben Hebert 2016 CC, 2017 Brier
2017–18 Kevin Koe Marc Kennedy Brent Laing Ben Hebert 2017 COCT, 2018 OG
2018 Brad Jacobs Marc Kennedy E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden 2018 CC (lone event)
2019–20 Brad Jacobs Marc Kennedy E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden 2019 CC, 2020 Northern Ont., 2020 Brier
2020–21[21] Brad Jacobs Marc Kennedy E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden 2021 Brier
2021–22 Brad Jacobs Marc Kennedy E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden

Awards & Recognitions[]

  • Canadian Curling Championship First Team All Star(Second) 2007
  • Canadian Curling Championship First Team All Star(Second) 2008
  • World Curling Tour MVP 2008
  • Canadian Curling Championship First Team All Star(Second) 2009
  • University Of Alberta

Award of Excellence 2010

  • Canadian Curling Championship

First Team All Star(Second) 2011

  • Canadian Curling Championship Second Team All Star(Second) 2013
  • Canadian Curling Championship Second Team All Star(Second) 2015
  • TSN Top Male Second Of All Time 2019
  • TSN #8 Top Male Player Of All Time 2019

References[]

  1. ^ "2021 Tim Hortons Brier - Northern Ontario - Marc Kennedy". Curling Canada. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  2. ^ "2021 Home Hardware Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  3. ^ Weeks, Bob (March 5, 2019). "Canada's Greatest Curlers: Kennedy dominates competition for best second". TSN. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  4. ^ Canada Games Athletes search Archived 2010-02-10 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ O'Leary, Chris (March 2, 2013). "Marc Kennedy wins Ford Hot Shots skills competition". The Edmonton Journal. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  6. ^ Brazeau, Jonathan (March 3, 2018). "Olympic curler Marc Kennedy taking a break after season". Sportsnet. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  7. ^ Heroux, Devin (8 November 2018). "Canada first? Marc Kennedy thinks we're exporting too much curling knowledge". CBC Sports. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  8. ^ Strong, Gregory (December 3, 2018). "Marc Kennedy filling in for Ryan Fry as Team Jacobs heads to Canada Cup". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  9. ^ Horne, Ryan (December 9, 2018). "Jacobs captures first career Canada Cup with help from Kennedy". TSN. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  10. ^ Heroux, Devin (March 21, 2019). "Olympic champ Marc Kennedy ending retirement to join Team Jacobs". CBC Sports. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  11. ^ "GSOC cancels remaining events of 2019–20 season". Grand Slam of Curling. Grand Slam of Curling. March 13, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  12. ^ The Canadian Press (December 21, 2020). "Ontario, Manitoba cancel provincial playdowns". TSN. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  13. ^ "2021 Tim Hortons Brier: Scores, schedule, standings". Sportsnet. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  14. ^ "Marc Kennedy to join Team Canada lineup for World Championship". Curling Canada. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  15. ^ 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials: Media Guide
  16. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-12-27. Retrieved 2010-04-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ^ "Tankard Times" (PDF). Curling Canada. March 10, 2016. p. 10. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  18. ^ "2021 Tim Hortons Brier Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  19. ^ "Northern Playdown Winners". Northern Alberta Curling Association. Archived from the original on April 16, 2002.
  20. ^ "Northern Playdown Winners". Northern Alberta Curling Association. Archived from the original on February 16, 2003. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  21. ^ "2020–21 Men's Curling Teams". CurlingZone. Retrieved November 4, 2020.

External links[]

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