Second gold medal the end of a chapter for Morris

By Charlie Pinkerton

A second Olympic gold medal was John Morris’ “icing on the cake.”

With partner Kaitlyn Lawes, Morris made the top of the podium in the Olympic debut of mixed doubles curling.

He won his first Olympic gold medal in Vancouver in 2010 as the third on a team skipped by Kevin Martin. Lawes won Olympic gold as the third of Jennifer Jones’ team in 2014.

“I was very lucky to play with a partner like Kaitlyn,” Morris said. “She was such a great teammate and great shot maker and was really easy to communicate with. To have been able to have won our second gold medals with each other is a dream come true and I feel really satisfied.”

Morris and Lawes lost their first game of the Olympic tournament before rallying off eight straight wins, including a dominating 10-3 performance against Switzerland in the gold medal game on Feb. 13., giving them the rest of the Games to take part in the Olympics’ festivities, worry free. In early March, Morris said he’s still riding the emotional high from winning gold.

“It definitely hasn’t worn off yet. It sure feels great when you win a gold medal,” Morris said.

Morris said winning Olympic gold comes at the transition to a new chapter of his life. The day before he left for the Games, he proposed to his girlfriend, Maggie. The two will be wed in Ottawa this summer at one of Morris’ “favourite places in the world,” his family’s cabin near Ottawa, in Quebec. They’re also expecting their first child.

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“We’re really excited. It’s going to be a little bit different now, but I think its all for the better,” he added.

“I’ve been competing for so many years at a really high level of curling and I think Kaitlyn and I may still play a couple of years in mixed doubles,” Morris said. “But I think as far as my days of grinding it out on tour with a men’s team are gone. I feel very fortunate to have had such a great career and I’ve been lucky enough to play with some really great people in this game.”

It’s hard to imagine a sweeter ending than the icing of Olympic gold.