Ryan Harnden (born June 28, 1986) is a Canadian curler. He is the former

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

for the

Brad Jacobs Bradley Robert Jacobs (born June 11, 1985) is a Canadian curler from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. 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 championshi ...

rink. The team represented Canada at the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

, winning a gold medal.

Career

Early career

Ryan joined forces with his father

Eric Harnden The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

for the 2007–08 season, as his second. The team, which also included brother E. J. and

Caleb Flaxey Caleb Flaxey (born August 30, 1983) is a Canadian curler from Caledon, Ontario. Flaxey, originally from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, played lead for the Eric Harnden rink that represented Northern Ontario at the 2008 Tim Hortons Brier in Winnipe ...

at lead won

the Dominion Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship The Northern Ontario Curling Association (NOCA) Men's Provincial Championship, also known as the Northern Ontario Tankard is the Northern Ontario provincial championship for men's curling. The winner represents Team Northern Ontario annually at t ...

that season, and would represent

Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...

at the

2008 Tim Hortons Brier The 2008 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's men's curling championship, was held from March 8 to 16 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Skipped by Kevin Martin, Alberta defeated the defending champion, and reigning World Champion Glenn Howard and ...

. The team would have an unsuccessful Brier, finishing with a 3–8 record. Following the season, Harnden joined forces with

, and has played with Jacobs ever since. He would play second for the team from 2008 to 2011 and then lead since 2012, after

Ryan Fry Ryan Bennett Fry (born July 25, 1978) is a Canadian curler currently living in Toronto and playing third on the Mike McEwen team. He previously played third for Team Brad Jacobs, and the team represented Canada and won the gold medal at the 20 ...

joined the team as third, and E. J. replaced Ryan at second. In their first season together, the team lost in the 2009 Northern Ontario final to Mike Jakubo. The following season would be more successful. The team played in one

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

, the

2012 The National The 2012 Pomeroy Inn & Suites National was held from January 25 to 29 at the EnCana Events Centre in Dawson Creek, British Columbia. It was the third Grand Slam event of the 2011–12 curling season and the eleventh time the tournament has been h ...

that season, Harnden's first. The team went 0–5. However, the team did win The Dominion 2010 Northern Ontario Provincial Men's Championship and had a tremendous Brier that season. At the

2010 Tim Hortons Brier The 2010 Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held between March 6 until March 14, 2010 in Halifax, Nova Scotia at the Halifax Metro Centre. It marked the sixth time the Brier had been to Halifax, and the seco ...

, the team finished 2nd after the round robin with a 9–2 record. However, they lost both of their playoff games and would have to settle for a bronze medal.

2010–2012

During the 2010–11 season, the team played in two Grand Slams. They first played in the 2010 World Cup of Curling, where they finished 2–3. The team also played in the

2011 Players' Championship The 2011 GP Car and Home Players' Championship was a Grand Slam curling bonspiel held at the Crystal Centre in Grande Prairie, Alberta from April 12–17. It features a men's and women's draw, where the top sixteen teams from the Order of Merit ...

, but Harnden sat the event out, and was replaced by

Ted Appelman Ted Appelman (born August 27, 1980 ) is a Canadian curler from Edmonton, Alberta, and the brother of fellow curler Tom Appelman Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name ...

. That season, the team would then go on to win their second straight provincial title, by winning The Dominion 2011 Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship. While they had a decent 7–4 record at the

2011 Tim Hortons Brier 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 s ...

, it was not enough to make the playoffs, and they had to settle for 5th. For the 2011–12 season, the team entered two Slams, the

2011 World Cup of Curling The 2011 GP Car and Home World Cup of Curling was held from November 2 to 6 at the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It was the first Grand Slam event of the 2011–12 curling season and the eleventh time the tournament has been held. T ...

where they had a 2–3 record) and the 2011 BDO Canadian Open where they made the playoffs for the first time, but lost in the quarter final. The team would then go on to win

The Dominion 2012 Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship The 2012 The Dominion Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship, Dominion of Canada Northern Ontario Provincial Men's Curling Championship was held February 5–12 at the Soo Curlers Association in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The winning team of ...

, their third straight title. At the

2012 Tim Hortons Brier The 2012 Tim Hortons Brier, the Canadian men's national curling championship, was held from March 3 to March 11 at the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This Brier marked the sixth time that Saskatoon hosted the Brier; the last time ...

, they once again finished 5th, but with a worse 5–6 record.

2012–2014

The 2012–13 season would be the team's best season to date. The team welcomed Manitoba-born Ryan Fry at the third position, bumping E. J. to play second and Ryan to play lead. The team would make the playoffs in all three Slams they entered, losing in the quarterfinals of the

2012 Masters of Curling The 2012 Masters Grand Slam of Curling was held from November 14 to 18 at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre, the Brantford Golf & Curling Club, the Paris Curling Club, and the Brant Curling Club in Brantford and Paris, Ontario as part of the 201 ...

and

2013 The National The 2013 National was held from January 23 to 27 at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. It was the third men's Grand Slam event of the 2012–13 curling season. The purse for the event was CAD$100,000. In the final, J ...

. They made it to the final in their first ever slam at the

2012 Canadian Open of Curling The 2012 Canadian Open of Curling was held from December 12 to 16 at Prospera Place in Kelowna, British Columbia as part of the 2012–13 World Curling Tour. The event was the second men's Grand Slam event of the season. The event was held in a ro ...

where they lost to the

Glenn Howard Glenn William Howard (born July 17, 1962) is a 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 ...

rink. The team won

The Dominion 2013 Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship The 2013 Dominion Men's NOCA (Northern Ontario Curling Association) Provincial Curling Championship was held February 6–10 at the Nipigon Curling Club in Nipigon. The winning team of Brad Jacobs represented Northern Ontario at the 2013 Tim Hor ...

once again, qualifying for the Brier for the fourth straight year. At the Brier, the team finished the round robin with an 8–3 record, good enough for 4th. The team pulled off victories against Newfoundland and Labrador's

Brad Gushue Bradley Raymond Gushue, ONL ( ; born June 16, 1980) 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 W ...

, Ontario's Glenn Howard and Manitoba's

Jeff Stoughton Jeffrey R. "Jeff" Stoughton (born July 26, 1963) 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 ...

en route to win Northern Ontario's first Brier title in 28 years. The team would later represent Canada at the

2013 Ford World Men's Curling Championship The 2013 World Men's Curling Championship (branded as the Ford World Men's Curling Championship 2013 for sponsorship reasons) was held from March 30 to April 7, 2013 at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. This m ...

where they won a silver medal. The next season, the team won the

2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials The 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials (branded as the 2013 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings for sponsorship reasons) were held from December 1 to 8 at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The winners of the men's and women's events were chosen to ...

, earning them the right to represent Canada at the

. At the Olympics in

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, they led Canada to a 9–3 victory in the men's final, defeating Great Britain to claim the gold medal.

2014–2019

Following their Olympic success, the Jacobs rink once again made it to the Brier in 2015. After posting a 10–1 round robin record in first place, they won the 1 vs. 2 game sending them to the finals against the defending Brier champions, Team Canada (skipped by Pat Simmons), which they lost. Later in the season the Jacobs rink won their first career

event, winning the

2015 Players' Championship The 2015 Players' Championship was held from April 7 to 12 at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, Ontario. It was the fifth and final Grand Slam of the 2014–15 World Curling Tour. Sault Ste. Marie's Brad Jacobs rink won their first men's ...

. At the

2016 Tim Hortons Brier The 2016 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 5–13, 2016 at TD Place Arena in Ottawa, Ontario. It is the fourth time the Brier has been held in Ottawa, and the fifth time the Brier has been held i ...

, the Jacobs rink once again tore through the round robin, going undefeated to finish in first place. However, they ran into trouble in the playoffs, losing to Newfoundland and Labrador in the 1 vs. 2 game and to Alberta in the semifinal. They did rebound in the bronze medal game, defeating Manitoba to finish third overall. The 2016–17 season would be the best to date for the Jacobs rink on the

World Curling Tour The World Curling Tour (WCT) is a group of curling bonspiels featuring the best male, female, and mixed doubles curlers in the world. History The World Curling Tour was founded by former World Champion Ed Lukowich, with later assistance from Jo ...

, winning two slams, the

2016 Boost National The 2016 National (branded as the 2016 BOOST National for sponsorship reasons) was held from December 6 to 11 at the Essar Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. This was the third Grand Slam of Curling event and the second major of the 2016–17 ...

and the

2017 Humpty's Champions Cup The 2017 Humpty's Champions Cup is the final Grand Slam of curling event of the 2016–17 curling season The 2016–17 curling season began in August 2016 and ended in April 2017. ''Note: In events with two genders, the men's tournament winne ...

. At the

2017 Tim Hortons Brier The 2017 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 4–12, 2017 at the Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. This marked the second time the Brier was hosted by St. John's, the first ...

, the team would once again make the playoffs, after posting an 8-3 round robin record. However, they lost both of their playoff games, settling for fourth place. The Jacobs team played in the

2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials The 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials (branded as the 2017 Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings for sponsorship reasons) were held from December 2 to 10 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, Ottawa, Ontario. The winners of the men's and women's event ...

attempting to head to the Olympics again, but his team would finish with a disappointing 3–5 record, missing the playoffs. The team again represented Northern Ontario at the

2018 Tim Hortons Brier The 2018 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 3 to 11, 2018 at the Brandt Centre in Regina, Saskatchewan. The winning team represented Canada at the 2018 World Men's Curling Championship from March ...

, making it to the playoffs with an 8–3 record, but lost to Alberta's

Brendan Bottcher Brendan Michael Bottcher (born December 19, 1991) is a Canadian curler from Sherwood Park, Alberta. Bottcher is a three-time provincial men's champion, and was the skip of the 2021 Canadian men's championship team, having led Alberta to victory ...

rink in the 3 vs. 4 game. The next season, the Jacobs rink won the

2018 Tour Challenge The 2018 Tour Challenge was held from November 6 to 11 at the Tournament Centre in Thunder Bay, Ontario. This was the third Grand Slam of the 2018–19 curling season. In the men's Tier 1 competition, Brad Jacobs defeated Brendan Bottcher in th ...

Grand Slam event. A month later, the team won the

2018 Canada Cup The 2018 Home Hardware Canada Cup was held December 5–9 at Affinity Place in Estevan, Saskatchewan. The tournament winners qualified for the 2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Pre-Trials. Both the men's and women's events have a total purse of $70,0 ...

, their first Canada Cup title, defeating

Kevin Koe Kevin Koe ( ; born January 11, 1975) 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. Originally from Yellowknife, N ...

's rink in the final. The team had

Marc Kennedy Marc Kennedy (born February 5, 1982) is a Canadian curler, and Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic gold medallist from St. Albert, Alberta. In 2019, Kennedy was named the greatest Canadian male second in history in a TSN poll of broadcasters, rep ...

playing third, filling in for Ryan Fry, who was on sabbatical following unsportsmanlike behaviour and excessive drinking at the 2018

Red Deer Curling Classic The Prism Flow Red Deer Curling Classic is an annual bonspiel, or curling tournament, that takes place at the Red Deer Curling Club in Red Deer, Alberta. The tournament is held in a triple-knockout format. The men's tournament started in 1992 a ...

. The team once again represented Northern Ontario at the

2019 Tim Hortons Brier The 2019 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 2 to 10 at Westoba Place in Brandon, Manitoba. In the final, Kevin Koe of Alberta defeated Team Wildcard skipped by Brendan Bottcher 4–3 by scoring two ...

. The team went 9-2 in the round robin and championship round combined. Jacobs lost the 1 vs. 2 game to

and the semifinal to

resulting in the team getting the bronze medal.

2019–present

The following season, the team officially added Kennedy to the line-up at third with Fry going to play with

John Epping John Allan Epping (born March 20, 1983) is a Canadian curler from Toronto, Ontario. He currently skips his own team out of the Leaside Curling Club in East York, Toronto. Career Born in Peterborough, Ontario, Epping was a top junior curler, h ...

. In their first event, the

2019 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic The 2019 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic was held September 10 to 15 in Cornwall, Ontario. The total purse for the event was $59,000 for the Men's and $34,500 for the Women's. In the Men's final, John Epping defeated Brad Jacobs 5–3 in an ...

, the team went undefeated up until the final where they would lose to former teammate Fry and Team Epping. Team Jacobs won three straight

events, at the

Tour Challenge The Tour Challenge is a bonspiel, or curling tournament, and is a Grand Slam of Curling event. It was introduced into the Grand Slam lineup starting in the 2015–16 curling season The 2015–16 curling season began in August 2015 and ended in ...

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

and the Canadian Open. They would win the

2020 Northern Ontario Men's Provincial Curling Championship The 2020 Northern Ontario Men's Provincial Curling Championship, the men's curling championship of Northern Ontario was held from January 29 to February 2 at the Don Shepherdson Memorial Arena in New Liskeard. The winning Brad Jacobs rink represe ...

for the sixth year in a row. At the

2020 Tim Hortons Brier The 2020 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from February 29 to March 8 at the Leon's Centre in Kingston, Ontario. The winning Brad Gushue rink was scheduled to represent Canada at the 2020 World Men's Curli ...

, they battled through two tiebreakers before losing to

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

in the 3 vs. 4 game, all within the same day. It would be the team's last event of the season as both the

Players' Championship The Players' Championship is one of the final events on the World Curling Tour (WCT) and is a part of the Grand Slam of Curling. From 2016 to 2019, it was the penultimate slam of the curling season, and the last of the four "majors". The even ...

and the Champions Cup Grand Slam events were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Team Jacobs played in two tour events during the 2020–21 season, winning the

Stu Sells Oakville Tankard The Stu Sells Oakville Tankard (also known as the OCT Championships) is an annual bonspiel on the men's and women's Ontario Curling Tour. Except for in 2020, the event has been held at the Oakville Curling Club in Oakville, Ontario. The event w ...

and losing in the qualification game of the

Ashley HomeStore Curling Classic The Nufloors Penticton Curling Classic is an annual bonspiel on the men's tour. It is held annually in November at the Penticton Curling Club in Penticton, British Columbia. It has been held since 2017. From 2017–2020, the event was sponsored ...

. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario The COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in C ...

, the 2021 provincial championship was cancelled. As the reigning provincial champions, Team Jacobs was chosen to represent Northern Ontario at the

2021 Tim Hortons Brier The 2021 Tim Hortons Brier, Canada's national men's curling championship, was held from March 5 to 14 at the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, Alberta. In the final, Team Alberta, skipped by Brendan Bottcher defeated Team ...

. At the Brier, they finished with a 7–5 record.

Personal life

Harnden is the son of three-time Northern Ontario champion Eric Harnden. He attended

Sault College Sault College of Applied Arts and Technology is a publicly funded college in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It began in 1965 as the Ontario Vocational Centre. Today, Sault College offers full-time and part-time opportunities for students in post-sec ...

(where he received a business diploma), the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

(for real estate appraisal) and

Algoma University Algoma University, commonly shortened to Algoma U or Algoma, is a public university with its main campus located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. With a particular focus on the needs of Northern Ontario, Algoma U is a teaching-focused and s ...

(geography). He is married to Jasmine Gassi. He is currently employed as a sales representative for

Royal LePage Royal LePage is a Canadian real estate franchiser and owner-operator with more than 600 locations and over 18,000 Realtors in Canada. The company was founded on July 2, 1913 in Toronto, Canada by then 26-year-old Albert E. LePage, under the name ...

and is a substitute teacher with the

Algoma District School Board Algoma District School Board (known as English-language Public District School Board No. 2 prior to 1999) is a public school board in the Canadian province of Ontario. The school board is the school district administrator for the Algoma District. ...

Teams

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harnden, Ryan 1986 births Sportspeople from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Living people Curlers from Northern Ontario Brier champions Olympic curlers of Canada Curlers at the 2014 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Canada Olympic medalists in curling Canadian male curlers Algoma University alumni Canada Cup (curling) participants Canadian schoolteachers