Legend to shift focus to mixed doubles
Canadian curling legend Jennifer Jones has announced her imminent departure from four-player women’s curling.
The 49-year-old Winnipeg skip, who lives much of the time near Alliston in Ontario, issued a statement on social media announcing she has “decided that at the end of this season I will retire from women’s curling.”
Jones expressed being “privileged to play thousands of games: the Olympics, National and World Championships, grand slams and so much more domestically and internationally. Curling has challenged me, changed me and called me to be a better person, and I will be forever grateful.”
Jones will continue to compete in mixed doubles with her husband, Brent Laing. The pair are the current and defending Canadian champions in the two-player discipline which has been an Olympic medal sport since PyeongChang 2018.
“This decision to step away from women’s competition will allow me to transition to other opportunities, and to be able to focus on my family and be more present with our children in their own lives,” Jones said. “I will continue to compete in mixed doubles with my teammate and husband Brent. This is a decision that will make it just a little less hard to leave what I love so much.
Jones wrote strongly about curling fans, saying without them “we would all just be people throwing rocks in a rink; with you we become part of epic dramas full of intensity, high stakes and passion. The inspiration of playing with you in the stands has been the highlight of my career.”
The two-time Olympian will compete in her 18th and presumably final Canadian women’s championship starting this weekend in Calgary. Jones lost last year’s final of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts to now four-time defending champion Kerri Einarson, a rival Manitoba team based in Gimli.
Jones is in her second year with the former Mackenzie Zacharias foursome, comprising world junior champions Karlee Burgess, Emily Zacharias and Lauren Lenentine.
Mackenzie Zacharias, the skip of the junior squad, was reported to have left the team voluntarily after their first year together.
Jones and Co. start their Scotties with a battle against Nova Scotia veteran Heather Smith at 1:00 p.m. local time on Saturday, Feb. 17.
Team Jones won the first Grand Slam event of the current season at Niagara Falls, Ont. in October, defeating former third Kaitlyn Lawes in the final.
Jones is one of the most decorated female curlers in history, having won Olympic gold in 2014, two Olympic Trials titles, two world championships and six national STOH championships.
Her final shot to win the 2005 Tournament of Hearts has been described as the greatest shot ever made to win a championship title.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5hUqUH1XoE[/embed]
Jones’ decision is sure to be seen as sudden and surprising, given that it comes two years before the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Today’s high-performance curling athletes plan their seasons in four-year quadrennials, and the Jones foursome is traditionally one of the top-sponsored teams in the women’s game.
Jones has been appearing as a Sportsnet TV analyst during coverage of the Grand Slam curling series, adding to a talent roster that already includes stalwarts Mike Harris, Joan McCusker and Kevin Martin.