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| Mike Harris | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | June 9, 1967 Georgetown, Ontario, Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Curling club | Toronto Cricket, S&CC, Toronto, ON | ||||||||||||||||||||
Curling career  | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Member Association |  Ontario | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Brier appearances | 1 (2004) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic appearances | 1 (1998) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Michael R. Harris [1] (born June 9, 1967 in Georgetown, Ontario) is a Canadian curler. Harris led his team to win the silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Relatively unknown due to the shadows cast out of Ontario in the form of superstars Russ Howard, Ed Werenich and Wayne Middaugh, and having not qualified to a Brier out of Ontario yet, Harris rose to stardom when he skipped his team of Richard Hart, Collin Mitchell and George Karrys to a win at the Canadian Olympic trials in 1997, qualifying the team for the 1998 Winter Olympics. They would defeat the favoured Kevin Martin 6-5 in the trials final, after a 7-2 round robin record had the team sole 1st and a direct bye to the final.
At the Olympics, Harris' team dominated throughout, while other pre-Olympic favourites such as reigning World Champions Sweden (skipped by Peja Lindholm) and reigning World silver medallist and European Champions Germany (skipped by Andy Kapp) struggled and were never in playoff contention. Harris lost only one game in the round-robin (his final game to three-time World Champion and 1988 Olympic Gold medallist Eigil Ramsfjell, skipping Norway). They would win their semi final over the U.S team skipped by Tim Somerville 7-1, in a game conceded after 8 ends, before losing in a major upset in the gold medal final against the surprise finalists, Team Switzerland skipped by Patrick Hürlimann, who they had easily beaten 8-3 in the round robin. Harris was ill during the final game, which many attribute to why they had lost. He shot at only 25% in the final, and even had to take several short breaks on the sideline throughout due to lack of physical energy. However, he was not the only one to struggle in the gold medal game, third Richard Hart shot only 58% and second Collin Mitchell an uncharacteristic 73% (though lead George Karrys was stellar at 98%).
Prior to the Olympics, Harris' only claim to fame on the national curling scene had been a 6-5 record at the 1986 Canadian Junior Men's Curling Championship and a 4-7 record at the 1989 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship. After the 1998 Olympics, Harris skipped a team to the 2004 Nokia Brier where they finished 6-5.
Harris continued to curl competitively into the 2010s. He became curling commentator for the CBC and Rogers Sportsnet and worked as a golf professional.
Harris currently coaches the Tanner Horgan rink. [2]
Harris currently lives in Toronto. He is married and has three children. He is employed as the executive director of the Northern Ontario Curling Association, in addition to his commentary work on Rogers Sportsnet. [2]
Robert Wayne Middaugh is a Canadian curler. Born in Brampton, Ontario, Middaugh resides in Victoria Harbour, Ontario. He is the only player to have won the Canadian Men's Curling Championship at three different positions: skip (1998), third (2012), and second (1993). He was inducted into the Canadian Curling Hall of Fame in 2020. He currently coaches the Anna Hasselborg rink from Sweden.
Kevin Martin, nicknamed "The Old Bear" and "K-Mart", is a Canadian retired curler originally from Lougheed, Alberta and residing in Edmonton. He is an Olympic, World and four-time Canadian champion and a member of the World Curling Hall of Fame. He is considered by many commentators and former and current curlers to be the greatest curler of all time. He is also known for his rivalries with Randy Ferbey/David Nedohin, the best Alberta provincial rivalry ever as the two teams were generally regarded the best in the world from 2002 to 2006; his rivalry with Jeff Stoughton, perhaps the most famous all prairies rivalry ever which spanned over 2 decades from 1991 to 2014; with Glenn Howard from 2007 to 2014, perhaps the best two team rivalry in Canadian curling history, and his rivalry with Sweden's Peja Lindholm from 1997 to 2006, perhaps the best ever men's Canada-Europe rivalry.
Jeffrey R. "Jeff" Stoughton is a Canadian retired curler. He is a three-time Brier champion and two-time World champion as skip. Stoughton retired from competitive curling in 2015. He is one of the most successful Manitoba skips in curling history, and one of the most successful players in Canadian curling history. He is currently the National Men's Coach and Program Manager for Curling Canada, as well as being the head coach of the Canadian Mixed Doubles National Team.
Bradley Raymond Gushue, ONL is a Canadian curler from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Gushue, along with teammates Russ Howard, Mark Nichols, Jamie Korab and Mike Adam, represented Canada in curling at the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they won the gold medal by defeating Finland 10–4. He also represented Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics, where he won a bronze medal. In addition to the Olympics, Gushue won the 2017 World Men's Curling Championship with teammates Mark Nichols, Brett Gallant, and Geoff Walker. He is a record six-time Brier champion skip, having won in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024 all with Nichols, Gallant and Walker, except for 2023 and 2024 with E. J. Harnden replacing Gallant. Their win in 2017 was Newfoundland and Labrador's first Brier title in 41 years. At the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier, Gushue set a new record for Brier game wins as a skip, breaking a three-way tie with previous record-holders Russ Howard and Kevin Martin.
John C. Morris is a Canadian curler, and two-time Olympic gold medallist from Canmore, Alberta. Morris played third for the Kevin Martin team until April 24, 2013. Morris, author of the book Fit to Curl, is the son of Maureen and Earle Morris, inventor of the "Stabilizer" curling broom. Morris grew up in Gloucester, Ontario and at the age of five began curling at the Navy Curling Club.
Glenn William Howard is a retired Canadian curler who is one of the most decorated curlers of all time. He has won four world championships, four Briers and 17 Ontario provincial championships, including a record eight straight, from 2006 to 2013. Through 2017, he has played in 218 games at the Brier, more than any other curler in history. He has also won the 2001 TSN Skins Game.
Brent George Laing is a Canadian curler from Horseshoe Valley, Ontario. He grew up in Meaford, Ontario.
Marc Kennedy is a Canadian curler, and Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic gold medallist from St. Albert, Alberta. He currently plays third on Team Brad Jacobs.
Ryan Bennett Fry is a retired Canadian curler currently living in Pickering, Ontario. He most recently played third on the Mike McEwen team and coached the Rachel Homan team. He currently coaches the Joël Retornaz rink. He previously played third for Team Brad Jacobs, and the team represented Canada and won the gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics. The team also won the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier. Fry won a silver medal at the 2013 World Men's Curling Championship.
Kevin Koe is a Canadian curler. Koe is a two-time World champion and four-time Canadian champion. He was the skip of the Canadian men's team at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
George Karrys is a Canadian retired curler and journalist. He won a silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano with Mike Harris, Richard Hart, and Collin Mitchell.
John Allan Epping is a Canadian curler from Toronto, Ontario. He currently skips his own team out of the Leaside Curling Club in East York, Toronto.
The 2011 Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held March 5 until March 13, 2011 at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario. This event marked the 30th time that the province of Ontario has hosted the Brier since it began in 1927 in Toronto, Ontario and the first time a Bronze Medal Game was added to the playoffs.
Bradley Robert Jacobs is a Canadian curler from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. He currently skips his own team out of Calgary, Alberta. He is an Olympic champion skip, having led Canada to a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Jacobs is also the 2013 Tim Hortons 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.
James H. Cotter is a Canadian curler from Vernon, British Columbia. He currently coaches the Corryn Brown rink.
Eric Christopher "E. J." Harnden, Jr. is a Canadian curler. He currently throws second stones for the Canadian champion Brad Gushue rink.
Ryan Harnden is a Canadian curler. He currently plays lead on Team Matt Dunstone. He is the former lead for the Brad Jacobs rink, with whom he represented Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics, winning a gold medal.
Darren Moulding is a Canadian curler from Lacombe, Alberta and curls out of the Saville Sports Centre and the Lacombe Curling Club. He is a former Canadian Junior Silver Medallist, a Canadian Mixed Champion, and represented Alberta in the 2017, 2018, 2020 and Team Wild Card in the 2019 Brier Canadian men's championship.
Bradley Thiessen is a Canadian curler. He was a long-time member of the Brendan Bottcher rink, throwing second stones for the team until 2022. With Bottcher, he won the 2021 Tim Hortons Brier and represented Canada at the 2021 World Men's Curling Championship.
Karrick Martin is a Canadian curler. He currently plays lead on Team Kevin Koe. He is the son of 2010 Olympic champion skip Kevin Martin.
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