CORTINA D’AMPEZZO — Canadian curler Brad Jacobs picked up where he left off at the Olympic Games on Wednesday night.
It was a victory that was a little too close for comfort.
Jacobs and his Calgary-based side were tested in a 7-6 victory over Germany’s Marc Muskatewitz in his first Olympic appearance since winning gold 12 years ago. The veteran skip from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., made a nose hit for the extra-end victory.
“We’ll have to crank it up a little bit more but the good news is our skip was money,” said Canada lead Ben Hebert. “Brad’s got a little twinkle in his eye.”
Jacobs was perfect on his draws and shot a team-high 93 per cent on a lively night at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.
“To get it done in 11 ends is good for us,” Jacobs said. “I think the more that we can go deep into games, make the last shot to win like that, you want to get comfortable doing that and doing it in Game 1 is great.”
After a pair of blanks, Germany opened the scoring with a deuce in the third end after a couple of slight errors by the Canadian side of Jacobs, Hebert, vice Marc Kennedy and second Brett Gallant.
Muskatewitz made a mistake in the fourth when he was heavy with a draw to gift the Canadians a steal of two. The Germans rebounded with two points in the sixth end to tie the game at four.
Draw weight continued to be an issue at times for Muskatewitz, who won the European crown in 2024 and was making his Olympic debut.
He was heavy with his last throw in the ninth end, and Jacobs took advantage with a draw for two. Germany got fortunate in the 10th with a stone that spun back after grazing a rock by the side of the eight-foot ring.
A measure confirmed a pair to force an 11th end.
“The rollback spin-in was like a literal kick in the (groin),” said Canada coach Paul Webster. “But all we want is hammer in the last end tied. So we’d keep reminding ourselves (that).”
In the extra end, a Kennedy stone overcurled slightly and took out two of his own rocks while leaving Germany sitting three. Muskatewitz tried a soft hit-and-roll with his last shot but left it open for a takeout near the button.
Jacobs made the hit for the single and a key opening victory.
“They’ve got a lot of confidence in me, and I have all the confidence in the world in them,” Jacobs said of his teammates. “And I certainly do what I can to make them better.”
Canada is one of the medal favourites in a 10-team field that includes top-ranked Bruce Mouat of Great Britain, defending champion Niklas Edin of Sweden and Joel Retornaz of host Italy.
Italy sent the energetic, near-sellout crowd into a frenzy with a dramatic 7-6 win over Sweden. American Daniel Casper edged Czechia’s Lukas Klima 8-7, and top-ranked Bruce Mouat of Great Britain beat China’s Xu Xiaoming 9-4.
“Electric atmosphere, holy smokes, amazing,” said Hebert, who won Olympic gold in 2010. “Got the butterflies going. Had the hair standing up on your arms (with) all the chants.”
Canada hasn’t been to the top of the Olympic men’s team podium since Jacobs won with a different team in 2014. Hebert and Kennedy missed the playoffs at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games in South Korea on a team with Kevin Koe.
Gallant took Olympic bronze four years ago in Beijing on a team with Brad Gushue.
The Canadian women’s team skipped by Rachel Homan will open round-robin play Thursday morning. Homan’s Ottawa-based rink will face Denmark’s Madeleine Dupont.
Jennifer Jones was the last Canadian women’s skip to win Olympic gold. She was victorious in 2014.
John Morris and Kaitlyn Lawes won mixed doubles gold in 2018 when the discipline made its Olympic debut. Homan and Morris missed the playoffs in 2022, while Gallant and Jocelyn Peterman missed the playoffs earlier in the week.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2026.
Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
