A great Olympics for curling, says Bruce Rainnie
'You probably couldn't have come up with something much better than this'
The results may have been disappointing for Canada, but Bruce Rainnie says curling results in Pyeongchang are good news for the sport internationally.
Rainnie was in Pyeongchang for his eighth Olympic games as part of the CBC broadcast team. He was assigned to the curling rink, where he covered 43 games.
Canada won a gold medal in the new event of mixed doubles, but both the men's and women's teams failed to reach the Olympic podium for the first time.
Rainnie said Kevin Koe's rink played OK, but could not match the great games being put together for gold by the U.S.A. team. On the women's side, Rachel Homan's rink never found its stride.
"The women simply never got confident with the ice or their shots," said Rainnie.
International curling veterans at the games told Rainnie it is always a challenge to figure out the ice at every event.
"The biggest thing at a bonspiel is to have command of what the ice is doing and trust your ability to put the rock where you want and clearly the Rachel Homan team never, ever got close to that," he said.
Big wins for U.S.A. and Asia
But while it was a bad games for Canada, The results will likely be a boost for curling internationally, with two Asian teams on the podium in the women's event and the U.S.A. winning gold in the men's.
"You probably couldn't have come up with something much better than this, a Korean and Japanese team being on the podium on the women's side, and the U.S.A., who have long looked for some sort of boost in this sport," said Rainnie.
"I was seated right beside the NBC booth, and they did a half hour live pre-game show before a curling match. At one point that would have been unheard of."
Rainnie also reflected on the new-found celebrity of Prince Edward Islander Peter Gallant in South Korea.
Gallant coached the South Korean women's curling team to a silver medal. South Korea has never come close to the podium before, and has no culture of curling at the recreational level.
"He's a rock star here, an absolute rock star," said Rainnie.
Rainnie also praised the Pyeongchang organizers, saying it was probably the best winter games he has been involved in.
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With files from Island Morning