BEIJING, China — The professor will face his students in mixed curling on Sunday night at the Ice Cube.
Canadian John Morris, who coached Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt, will face the Australian duo with partner Rachel Homan in the Beijing Olympics round robin.
Gill and Hewitt moved to Canmore, Alta., last September and the teams played practice games there in preparation for the Games.
“He’s practically part of our family,” Hewitt said. He gave us this really nice card (last week) and he ended the note saying “Friend first. Coach second”. »
Of course, Morris had to take off his coaching hat when he and Homan were named Canada’s representatives in mixed curling last month.
“It’s probably going to be my toughest game mentally,” Morris said in a recent interview. They are such good friends and wonderful people. I like to play with a bit of intensity and I want to crush my opponent, but it’s hard to want to crush them because they are so nice. »
Gill and Hewitt first came into contact with Morris after he won mixed curling gold alongside Kaitlyn Lawes at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
The families have a history, as Earle Morris, John’s father, once coached Dean’s father, Steve. Dean Hewitt finished seventh with Australia at the 1992 Games in Albertville, where curling was only a demonstration sport.
Gill and Hewitt meanwhile have been tenacious despite currently going 0-6 at the Ice Cube. Four of their losses have been decided by a single run, including against gold medal contenders Great Britain and Sweden.
The Aussies finished fourth at the 2019 World Mixed Curling Championships. Morris was on hand last December at an Olympic qualifying event in the Netherlands, where Gill and Hewitt secured their ticket to Beijing.
“Three years ago they had a dream and they wanted to go to the Olympics,” Morris said. It is very inspiring to see for athletes from all over the world. If you put in the time, you can participate in the Olympics. »
While Morris is unavailable, Pete Manasantivongs will serve as Australia’s Olympic competition coach.
Morris is chasing a third career Olympic gold medal. He also won gold at the Vancouver Games in 2010 in captain Kevin Martin’s team.
“I think it’s great that we can play against our coach,” Gill said. You can’t do that in a lot of sports. They have a very good team and we can’t wait to play against the best. »
