On 2 Worlds nice, Brier OK, but Olys Martin’s real goal

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This article was published 04/04/2009 (6332 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY — At each event Kevin Martin plays in, the big picture is always in the back of his mind.

Understand, when he and the rest of his Team Canada foursome hit the ice Friday afternoon at the Moncton Coliseum, the hour-long practice was spent fine-tuning deliveries and getting a feel for the rocks and Hans Wuthrich-produced ice in preparation for today’s 5:30 p.m. Ford world men’s curling championship opener against Japan’s Yusuke Morozumi.

But in Martin’s mind, events such as the world championship, where he’ll be aiming to become just the sixth back-to-back winner in the 50-year history of the event, are all part of the master plan, the goal of which is to peak for both December’s Tim Hortons Olympic trials in Edmonton, and the Winter Games two months later in Vancouver.

“No question. Absolutely,” said the 42-year-old, whose half-Edmonton (Martin, second Marc Kennedy), half-Calgary (third John Morris, lead Ben Hebert) foursome claimed the Tim Hortons Brier crown last month in Calgary. “That’s what the last three years have been all about, and we’ve been very fortunate to get into a pile of finals, in every circumstance; skins, World Curling Tour, Grand Slams, Canada Cups, Continental Cups, Briers and worlds. So that’s been just great for our team.”

But while the Olympics are the ultimate end goal, it’s not lost on the team that just getting to finals along the way is not enough. Winning them is still the priority, and that was never more evident than the Canada Cup in Yorkton, Sask., a week after the Brier, where a fatigued Martin team still had enough in the tank to overcome a field that was vastly superior to the one it beat in Calgary, by going undefeated for a second straight year.

“We were bagged, we had had a long week at the Brier. But we don’t want to have any excuses,” said Kennedy. “That’s why we train so hard in the summer, so that we can go from event to event and still be at our peak.

“I think the big picture is always in the back of our mind, but I think we’ve definitely been able to separate each event.”

Canada will be the favourite in the 12-team field, although it’s not as clear-cut as it once was. Last year in Grand Forks, N.D., for instance, Martin was shocked by China’s Fengchun Wang and also lost the Page playoff one versus two game to Scotland’s David Murdoch before rebounding to beat the Scots in the final.

— Canwest News Service