Hometown favourite Gushue beats Carruthers at Grand Slam’s Kioti National in St. John’s

Posted on November 27, 2024 by Peggy

Brad Gushue thrilled a near-capacity crowd Wednesday afternoon by posting a 6-3 victory over Winnipeg’s Reid Carruthers at the Kioti National.

The teams shook hands after Carruthers made a draw for a single in the seventh end.

Gushue, from St. John’s, N.L., improved to 2-0 in round-robin play at the Mary Brown’s Centre. It’s the first major curling event in the city since 2017, when Gushue won his first career national men’s championship.

Earlier, Winnipeg’s Kaitlyn Lawes made a game-winning draw to the button for a 5-4 victory over Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni. It’s Lawes’s first competition since she returned from maternity leave.

Winnipeg skip Kaitlyn Lawes encourages her teammates as they play Alberta in qualifications at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Calgary on Feb. 23, 2024. — Canada’s Kaitlyn Lawes edged Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni 5-4 on Wednesday at the Kioti National in St. John’s. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press, File)

Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg defeated South Korea’s Eun-Ji Gim 6-2 and Japan’s Momoha Tabata beat Xenia Schwaller 6-4. Satsuki Fujisawa topped Sayaka Yoshimura 6-3 in an all-Japanese matchup.

Winnipeg’s Mike McEwen defeated Switzerland’s Marco Hoesli 5-2 and Ottawa’s Rachel Homan beat Christina Black of Halifax 6-3.

Germany’s Marc Muskatewitz outscored Switzerland’s Yannick Schwaller 8-6 and Scotland’s Ross Whyte dumped Switzerland’s Michael Brunner 7-2.

The four-draw day will wrap with an evening session. Competition at the Grand Slam of Curling event continues through Sunday.