John Morris and Shannon Birchard have joined forces in mixed doubles curling.
Morris, who won Olympic mixed doubles gold with Caitlin Laws in 2018 and competed with Rachel Homan in Beijing in February, and Birchard announced their partnership on social media on Wednesday.
“I’m so excited to partner with Shannon,” Morris said in a post. “She’s one of the top female curlers in the game and one of the best players I’ve ever seen.”
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Birchard of Winnipeg is also second to Kerry Einerson’s four-woman team, which has won three consecutive Canadian championships and earned bronze at this year’s world championships.
Morris of Kenmore, Alta., was second to Kevin Coe for the previous two seasons and won the Olympic men’s team gold in 2010 as Kevin Martin’s third.
He and Homan were knocked out in an extra-end defeat in the Olympic quarterfinals in Beijing.
Morris, 43, indicated on Wednesday that he intends to play only mixed doubles in 2026 for a third consecutive time in Olympic mixed doubles.
Read more: Kaitlyn Laws moves to leave with new Manitoba-based team
“He’s such a talented and smart player,” Birchard said. “He has a lot of experience in this discipline and I can’t wait to learn from him and compete with him.”
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