Cinderella story denied

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This article was published 25/02/2024 (791 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY — Athletes rarely get storybook endings to their careers — and the greatest Canadian women’s curler of all time didn’t either.

Winnipeg’s Jennifer Jones said goodbye to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts on Sunday with a 5-4 loss to Ontario’s Rachel Homan in the championship game.

The 49-year-old Jones, who’s retiring from women’s competition at the end of the 2023-24 season, was outduelled in Calgary by an undefeated Homan side that’s been untouchable all year.

Jones made things interesting with a clutch pair in the ninth to tie things up but needed to make an extremely difficult draw in the 10th to put the pressure on her rival. The living legend ran out of magic as it ended up just rubbing on Homan’s rock.

After exchanging hugs with third Karlee Burgess, second Emily Zacharias, and lead Lauren Lenentine, Jones stood alone on the ice while a sold-out crowd of 3,195 fans inside the WinSport Event Centre gave her a standing ovation. Her daughters Isabella, 11, and Skyla, 7 joined her soon after and stayed by her side.

“I’m just gonna miss everybody. I love the game. I love being out here, I love what it’s done for our daughters, they believe anything is possible because of curling,” said Jones. “I love all of you guys and I love being a part of this curling community and I’m really going to miss it. The standing ovation was more than I ever could’ve expected. The fact that all these people supported the sport and supported me means the world.”

Jones continued: “At this moment, it’s really hard to say goodbye, to be honest. I think for me, I just don’t want my kids to look back on life and think that their mom was never front row centre cheering them on like my mom was for me. So, that’s the biggest reason, but they keep asking me to change my mind, so, we’ll see.”

It’s the second year in a row Team Jones had to settle for silver. Last year in Kamloops they lost the final to Canada’s Kerri Einarson.

“It’s hard, it’s very emotional, just because it’s Jen’s last,” said Burgess. “Obviously, we really wanted this for Jen and obviously for us. It hurts right now, but I’m so proud of us. It was a great week, and we had a great two years. I’m very grateful to have been able to have played with Jen. I learned so much. She made me a better athlete, a better player, a better curler and I can’t thank her enough. I’m going to miss her.”

Becoming the first individual to win seven career Scotties wasn’t in the cards for Jones who shot 72 per cent on Sunday. Homan was on a mission with very few misses at 88 per cent.

“Knowing that it’s Jen’s last game at the Scotties is the hardest thing,” said Lenentine. “She’s just given so much to the sport. I’m so grateful for the chance to share the ice with her this week. Obviously, we wanted to help her get that seventh title, but we came out and played strong today. I think we came out and battled hard as a team and that’s what mattered most to us.”

The future remains bright for Burgess, Zacharias and Lenentine, but it’s undetermined where they’ll go from here and whether or not they’ll stick together.

“We obviously haven’t really talked about it much. We just kind of wanted to enjoy this week,” said Burgess. “I’m sure things will start happening, but as of right now, I don’t know and I just kind of want to enjoy this moment with Jen.”

For the fourth time in her career, and first since 2017, the Ottawa skip is back on top of country’s curling mountain after losing her last three national title games.

Homan is having one of the most dominant seasons in Canadian curling history with now six event victories and an incredible 49-5 record.

Team Jones went 0-6 against Homan this year with three of those losses coming this week, including a 6-4 defeat in the Page 1-versus-2 game Saturday night.

Homan, third Tracy Fleury, second Emma Miskew, and lead Sarah Wilkes will now wear Canada’s maple leaf at the world women’s curling championship in Sydney, N.S. (March 16-24).

It’s the first Scotties crown for Fleury, a former import skip in Manitoba.

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“I can’t describe the feeling of just coming so close so many times and losing, I don’t know, it feels like seven finals. It’s just an amazing feeling and we knew we put in the work. We didn’t have as much time as we would’ve liked because of (our) kids, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way,” said Homan, who gave birth to her third child six months ago. “They motivate us, and we’re so excited to share this journey with them and show them dedication, hard work, and setting your goals high. It’s just so exciting to be part of that journey with our families.”

No Canadian — in men’s or women’s play — has won gold at the world championship since Jones did it in 2018. Homan captured gold at the worlds in 2017, and she’s hopeful she can do it again and end Canada’s drought.

“We’re gonna put in every ounce of work that we can to represent Canada as best we can in Canada,” said Homan. “We’re just so excited to be able to do that.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

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Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.