Brad Jacobs

Bradley Robert Jacobs (born June 11, 1985) is a Canadian curler from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. He currently skips his own team out of Calgary, Alberta. He is a 2-time Olympic champion skip, having led Canada to gold medals at the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2026 Winter Olympics. Jacobs is also the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier and the 2025 Montana's Brier championship skip and the 2013 World Championship runner-up. He is a 12-time Northern Ontario provincial champion, and one-time provincial junior champion.

Jacobs and his 2014 Olympic gold medallist team were well known for their physical fitness. They have been described as "fitness freaks" and were in 2014 "embracing curling's athletic evolution as much or more than any other team", helping to start the movement of more curling athletes embracing fitness and spending equal time "on the curling ice and at the gym".

Jacobs was born in Sault Ste. Marie, the son of Bob and Cynthia Jacobs ( Harnden).

He had a successful junior career, winning the Northern Ontario Junior Men's Championship in 2005 with teammates Brady Barnett, Scott Seabrook and Steve Molodowich. This gave his team a berth at the 2005 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, representing the region. At the Canadian Juniors, he led the team to an 8–4 record, good enough for fourth place, but out of the playoffs.

Men's career 2008–2022: Northern Ontario Jacobs first started in his men's career playing for his uncle, Al Harnden, with Jacobs throwing last rocks on the team. The team finished 5–6 at the 2007 Tim Hortons Brier. Jacobs participated in the 2008 Tim Hortons Brier as an alternate for another uncle, Eric Harnden. In 2008, Jacobs formed his own team with his cousins (Eric's sons) E. J. Harnden and Ryan Harnden as well as Caleb Flaxey. The team won the Northern Ontario provincial title in 2010, qualifying for the 2010 Tim Hortons Brier where they made the playoffs, the first team from Northern Ontario to do that since the 1993 Labatt Brier. Jacobs' team represented Northern Ontario again at the 2011 Tim Hortons Brier, where they finished with a 7–4 record, out of the playoffs. The following season, during the semifinal of The Dominion 2012 Northern Ontario Men's Curling Championship, Jacobs and team scored a rare eight-ender, in the sixth end to win the game 14–3. The team would go on to win the Northern Ontario championship and go to the Brier again in 2012, where they finished 5–6. The following year at the 2013 Tim Hortons Brier, they became the first team from Northern Ontario to win the Brier since 1985. The win gave them the right to represent Canada at the 2013 Ford World Men's Curling Championship. At the Worlds, Jacobs skipped the Canadian team to a silver medal, losing to Sweden's Niklas Edin in the final. Jacobs got another chance to represent Canada the next year, going undefeated and winning the 2013 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials to represent Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics. There, Team Jacobs won their first international championship, defeating Great Britain's David Murdoch 9–3 in the final. Jacobs curled 95% in the gold medal game.

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 final 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 Grand Slam event, the 2015 Players' Championship. At the 2016 Tim Hortons Brier, 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 semifinals. 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, winning two slams, the 2016 Boost National and the 2017 Humpty's Champions Cup. At the 2017 Tim Hortons Brier, the team once again made the playoffs, after posting an 8-3 round robin record. However, they lost both of their playoff games, settling for fourth place. Jacobs played in the 2017 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, attempting to head to the Olympics again, but his team finished with a disappointing 3-5 record, missing the playoffs. The team again represented Northern Ontario at the 2018 Tim Hortons Brier, making it to the playoffs with an 8-3 record, but lost to Alberta's Brendan Bottcher rink in the 3 vs. 4 game.

The next season, the Jacobs rink won the 2018 Tour Challenge Grand Slam event. A month later, the team won the 2018 Canada Cup, their first Canada Cup title, defeating Kevin Koe's rink in the final. The team had Marc Kennedy 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 team once again represented Northern Ontario at the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier, going 9-2 in the round robin and championship round combined. Jacobs lost the 1 vs. 2 game to Kevin Koe and the semifinal to Brendan Bottcher resulting in the bronze medal.

The following season, the team officially added Kennedy to the line-up at third, with Fry going to play with John Epping. In their first event, the 2019 AMJ Campbell Shorty Jenkins Classic, the team went undefeated until the final where they lost to former teammate Fry and Team Epping. Team Jacobs won three straight Grand Slam events, at the Tour Challenge, National and the Canadian Open. They won the 2020 Northern Ontario Men's Provincial Curling Championship for the sixth year in a row. At the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier, they battled through two tiebreakers before losing to Newfoundland and Labrador's Brad Gushue in the 3 vs. 4 game, all in the same day. It was the team's last event of the season as both the Players' Championship and the Champions Cup Grand Slam events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Team Jacobs played in two tour events during the 2020–21 season, winning the Stu Sells Oakville Tankard and losing in the qualification game of the Ashley HomeStore Curling Classic. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, 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. At the Brier, Jacobs led his team to a 7–5 sixth place finish. They wrapped up the season by making it to the quarterfinals of the 2021 Champions Cup and the semifinals of the 2022 Players' Championship.

Team Jacobs began the 2021–22 curling season by winning the 2021 Oakville Labour Day Classic. The next month, they lost in the final of the 2021 Masters, but did not make the playoffs at the 2021 National. The team played in the 2021 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, where Jacobs led the team to a 7–1 round robin record, tied for first. They then knocked off Kevin Koe in the semifinal before losing to Brad Gushue in the final. The team rolled through 2022 Northern Ontario Men's Provincial Curling Championship, losing just one game en route to the championship. The team was missing Kennedy who was playing as the alternate for Team Canada at the 2022 Olympics. He was replaced by Jordan Chandler. The team then represented Northern Ontario at the 2022 Tim Hortons Brier, where Jacobs led the rink to a 6–2 round robin record. This put them into the Championship round, where they were eliminated by Saskatchewan's Colton Flasch rink. The team then finished the season by making it to the quarterfinals of the 2022 Players' Championship and the semis of the 2022 Champions Cup. In March 2022, Jacobs announced he would be stepping back from competitive curling.

2023–2024: Manitoba and Team Carruthers Jacobs made his return in 2023, playing third for Reid Carruthers' rink in the Canadian Open as well as the remainder of the season's Slams. Starting in the 2023-24 curling season, Jacobs joined the former Reid Carruthers team full-time as their skip. The team won their first Manitoba Provincial Championship, where Jacobs represented Manitoba for the first time at the 2024 Montana's Brier, where they failed to reach the playoffs. After one season together, Jacobs announced he would be leaving the Carruthers team to skip a new team from Alberta with Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant, and Ben Hebert.

2024–present: Alberta and return to the Olympics In their first season together, the newly formed Jacobs team enjoyed plenty of success, finishing second at the 2024 National and the 2025 Masters grand slam events. Like the previous season, the Jacobs team pre-qualified for the 2025 Brier based on their CTRS ranking, which meant they bypassed the provincial qualifiers. At the 2025 Montana's Brier, the Jacobs rink won the national championship, beating Matt Dunstone in the final and qualifying to represent Canada at the 2025 World Men's Curling Championship. At the 2025 Worlds, the Jacobs rink went 11–1 in round robin play, but lost to Scotland's Bruce Mouat in the semi-final. The team rebounded to win the bronze medal, beating China's Xu Xiaoming 11–2.

Team Jacobs started the 2025–26 curling season winning the 2025 Pan Continental Curling Championships, beating John Shuster of the United States 7–3 in the final. They also had a strong year on the grand slam tour, finishing as semifinalists at the 2025 Masters and 2025 GSOC Tahoe. Team Jacobs tried to return to the Olympics at the 2025 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials. There, they finished the round robin in first place with a 6–1 record, and then beat Dunstone in both games of their best-of-three final to represent Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Personal life Jacobs was born on June 11, 1985, in Sault Ste. Marie. He holds a bachelor's degree in geography from Algoma University. He currently works as a senior marketing director for World Financial Group. He is married to Shawna Jacobs and has two children.

Grand Slam record

Event 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26 Masters DNP Q Q QF DNP SF QF F QF Q QF N/A F DNP QF F SF Tour Challenge N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A QF Q SF C C N/A N/A DNP QF QF DNP The National Q DNP DNP QF Q F QF C Q QF C N/A Q DNP Q F SF Canadian Open DNP DNP QF F DNP QF Q SF SF QF C N/A N/A Q Q QF QF Players' DNP Q DNP SF F C F QF Q QF N/A SF QF Q Q SF Q Champions Cup N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A DNP C Q QF N/A QF SF Q N/A N/A N/A Elite 10 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A SF DNP F QF SF N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Teams Season Skip Third Second Lead 2001–02 (NOSSA) E. J. Harnden Caleb Flaxey Ryan Harnden Brad Jacobs 2002 (OWG) Ryan Harnden Brad Jacobs Scott Seabrook Dan Murray 2003–04 Matt Seabrook Brad Jacobs Brady Barnett Scott Seabrook 2004–05 Brad Jacobs Brady Barnett Scott Seabrook Steve Molodowich 2005–06 Brad Jacobs Ryan Harnden Scott Seabrook Steve Molodowich 2006–07 Al Harnden Brad Jacobs Dusty Jakomait Rob Thomas 2007–08 Al Harnden Brad Jacobs Dusty Jakomait Rob Thomas 2008–09 Brad Jacobs E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden Caleb Flaxey 2009–10 Brad Jacobs E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden Caleb Flaxey 2010–11 Brad Jacobs E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden Scott Seabrook 2011–12 Brad Jacobs E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden Scott Seabrook 2012–13 Brad Jacobs Ryan Fry E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden 2013–14 Brad Jacobs Ryan Fry E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden 2014–15 Brad Jacobs Ryan Fry E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden 2015–16 Brad Jacobs Ryan Fry E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden 2016–17 Brad Jacobs Ryan Fry E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden 2017–18 Brad Jacobs Ryan Fry E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden 2018–19 Brad Jacobs Ryan Fry E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden 2019–20 Brad Jacobs Marc Kennedy E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden 2020–21 Brad Jacobs Marc Kennedy E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden 2021–22 Brad Jacobs Marc Kennedy E. J. Harnden Ryan Harnden 2023 (playdowns) Brad Jacobs Jordan Chandler Kyle Chandler Jamie Broad 2023 (Slams) Reid Carruthers Brad Jacobs Derek Samagalski Connor Njegovan 2023–24 Brad Jacobs Reid Carruthers Derek Samagalski Connor Njegovan 2024–25 Brad Jacobs Marc Kennedy Brett Gallant Ben Hebert 2025–26 Brad Jacobs Marc Kennedy Brett Gallant Ben Hebert 2026–27 Brad Jacobs Marc Kennedy Brett Gallant Ben Hebert