Joël Thierry Retornaz (born 30 September 1983 in

Chêne-Bougeries Chêne-Bougeries is a municipality in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. History Chêne-Bougeries is first mentioned in 1270 as ''Quercus''. In 1801 it was mentioned as ''Chêne-les-Bougeries''. Chêne-Bougeries was inhabited for most of its his ...

Genève , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

curler from

Cembra Cembra was a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about northeast of Trento. On 1 January 2016 it was merged with Lisignago to form a new municipality, Cembra Lisignago C ...

. He was the skip of the Italian men's Olympic curling team in 2006, 2018, and 2022. Retornaz gained sudden renown in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

during the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

. Although Italy has little curling tradition, and the sport was practiced only by a few hundred amateurs, Retornaz led the semi-professional Italian team to several unexpected victories over strong teams, including

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. This breakthrough inspired a sudden national curiosity for

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

, previously almost unknown in Italy. Retornaz returned to the Olympics in 2018, skipping the Italians again while throwing third rocks. The team finished 9th with a 3-6 record. The team finished 3–6 again at the 2022 Olympics, placing 9th again. Retornaz has represented Italy in eight

World Curling Championships The World Curling Championships are the annual world championships for curling, organized by the World Curling Federation and contested by national championship teams. There are men's, women's and mixed doubles championships, as well as men's an ...

, in 2005, 2010, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2022, skipping the team in each event except 2005. Their best record was a bronze medal at the 2022 World Men's Curling Championship, Italy's first medal at the men's worlds. Retronaz has competed for Italy in 14

European Curling Championships The European Curling Championships are annual curling tournaments held in Europe between various European nations. The European Curling Championships are usually held in early to mid December. The tournament also acts as a qualifier for the World ...

(as of 2022), finally winning a bronze medal in his 11th try in 2018,

skip Skip or Skips may refer to: Acronyms * SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene * Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol * SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aidin ...

ping the rink of

Amos Mosaner Amos Mosaner (born 12 March 1995 in Trento) is an Italian curler from Cembra. He is an Olympic gold medallist, having won the mixed doubles event at the 2022 Winter Olympics with partner Stefania Constantini. Career Juniors As a junior curl ...

Sebastiano Arman Sebastiano Arman (born 17 January 1997) is an Italian curler from Cembra. He competed at the 2015 Ford World Men's Curling Championship in Halifax, Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canad ...

Simone Gonin Simone Gonin (born 23 August 1989) is an Italian curler from Pinerolo. He represented Italy at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics. He was ejected from a game against the Czech Republic at the 2022 World Men's Curling Championship after smashin ...

and

Fabio Ribotta Fabio Ribotta (born 3 December 1998 in Pinerolo, Italy) is an Italian curling, curler, a , 2019 Italian Men's Curling Championship, Italian men's champion. Personal life Ribotta works in the tire business. Teams References External links * ...

. Retornaz won a second bronze in 2021 and a third in 2022.

Personal life

In addition to curling, Retornaz breeds and races

quarter horses The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of a quarter mile or less; some have been clocked at ...

. He is employed as a businessman. He is currently married and lives in

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

Grand Slam record

Retornaz won Italy's first Grand Slam championship at the 2022 Masters.

References

External links

* Italian male curlers Curlers at the 2006 Winter Olympics Curlers at the 2018 Winter Olympics 1983 births Living people Italian people of Swiss descent Olympic curlers of Italy Sportspeople from the canton of Geneva Sportspeople from Trentino Sportspeople from Lugano Italian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Curlers at the 2022 Winter Olympics {{Italy-curling-bio-stub