Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert have already won everything there is to win in curling. But they may not be done yet.
Kennedy, from St. Albert, Alta., and Hebert, from Regina, have been teammates for 16 seasons, playing for some of the best skips in the game, including Kevin Martin, Kevin Koe, Brendan Bottcher, and now Brad Jacobs.
Both are getting set to compete in their third Winter Olympics together next month in Italy.
“I wouldn’t want to go to battle with anyone else other than Ben,” Kennedy, 43, told reporters ahead of their trip to Milano Cortina 2026. “Even though we’re turning into the old men here, we still got a couple more good events in us.”
Alongside John Morris, the long-time friends broke out on the curling scene as the front-end duo for Martin in 2006, winning back-to-back Brier Tankards in 2008 and 2009 as well as a World Men’s Curling Championship in 2008 before capturing Olympic gold on home soil in Vancouver in 2010.
Hebert, 42, saw Kennedy’s potential during those early years with Team Martin and knew the lefty sharpshooter was quickly going to make a name for himself in the history books of curling.
“Marc showed at an early age that he was a superstar in the making at playing second. [He] changed the game at second stones, what you had to be to be a second,” Hebert said. “I think everyone kind of knew during those years he was a back-end player, dressed up as a second, and then when the opportunity was there for him to go to third stones, he did.
“He’s been in Olympics and won Briers at third. He’s going to go down as one of the best players ever in curling.”
With Kennedy jumping up to vice, the duo took their talents to Team Koe in 2014. They found more success with a Canadian and world title in 2016, in addition to another Olympic appearance in 2018 – this time finishing fourth in South Korea after dropping the bronze-medal game.
After going their separate ways following the PyeongChang Olympics, Kennedy and Hebert reunited for this past quadrennial, winning another Brier last year in Kelowna, B.C., and, of course, the Canadian Curling Trials in November, beating Team Matt Dunstone in the final on both occasions.
Continuing to win is an obvious motivation to keep going after all these years for Kennedy and Hebert. So is the “journey” with Team Jacobs, which also includes skip Brad Jacobs, second Brett Gallant, alternate Tyler Tardi and coach Paul Webster.
“There’s something special about getting a group of guys together that have one common goal,” Kennedy said.
One of the consistent ingredients in every highly successful curling rink is team chemistry. If the chemistry isn’t right – both on the ice and off of it – finding major wins on a regular basis is nearly impossible.
Viewed by many as the greatest sweeper in Canadian history, Hebert also has one of the most colourful and energetic personalities in the sport, while Kennedy falls more on quiet side in comparison.
Learning what makes each other tick is a major reason for their longevity with each other.
“I think we’ve really learned to appreciate each other’s differences. Of course, we want to win and of course we love curling and all these things that we have in common, but we definitely have some differences,” explained Kennedy. “Personality wise, attitude wise. We bring different things to the team. And I think what made us successful is realizing that we’re better together than we are apart. We bring different pieces of the puzzle to the group.”
If Team Jacobs is going to strike gold in Cortina, the team’s comfortable chemistry with one another will be a major reason why, said coach Webster.
“I think the biggest thing when you have these four adult males with the resumes that they came into this team with, it’s the ability to be honest with each other and be accountable – both to yourself but to your teammates,” Webster said. “We’ve created an atmosphere on the team that we can have very difficult conversations, pointed questions, and those questions are received by the teammate from the other teammate, and we’re just able to solve problems a lot of teams aren’t.
“For us to go into the Olympics and have an opportunity to get on the top of that podium, not only do we have to be the best curlers going into Italy, we have to be absolutely the best team.”
Hebert, who won a fifth Brier Tankard in 2019 with Team Koe, is ecstatic to compete in another Olympics with Kennedy before their careers come to a close.
“We’ve changed a lot. Families, teams, teammates, but the appreciation of being able to play with someone like that your whole career is really lucky for me,” Hebert said. “We didn’t play together for four years. I think that’s where you really appreciate the friendship and what each other bring to the team and pretty special to have him back and to be able to finish our careers together.”
Team Jacobs begin play at Milano Cortina 2026 on Feb. 11 against Germany’s Team Marc Muskatewitz. Canada hasn’t won gold in men’s curling since Jacobs accomplished the feat with his former team at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
